The Phnom Penh Post
Wednesday, 25 November 2009 15:01 Nguon Sovan
Trade across the Koh Kong border crossing has been relatively unaffected by rising tension between Cambodia and Thailand, though locals say tourists appear more easily scared off
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The people of Trat consider the people of Koh Kong their brothers, so there is no enmity at all....
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Koh Kong
Despite the escalating political spat between Cambodia and Thailand in recent weeks, officials said Tuesday that cross-border movement of goods and labour between Cambodia’s Koh Kong province and neighbouring Trat province in Thailand remained normal.
However, tourist numbers have declined, said Suos Sokdara, chief of Cambodian immigration police at the Cham Yeam crossing between the two provinces.
“This is normally peak season, with roughly 100 tourists crossing the border each day,” he said. “But in recent weeks it’s been quiet, only about 20 tourists a day, due to safety concerns set off by all the political tension.”
Prathip Chongsubthum, vice governor of Thailand’s Trat province, said that the two provinces’ relative immunity to political turmoil was long-established.
“The people of Trat consider the people of Koh Kong their brothers, so there is no enmity at all between the two provinces,” he said.
“Because once, in the past, Koh Kong was Thai people and Thai people were Koh Kong – it’s different from other border provinces.”
Prathip Chongsubthum said there were no official trade figures between the two border provinces, but that, generally, Trat exports fruits, vegetables and consumer goods to Koh Kong, while in return, Koh Kong exports a smaller volume of foodstuffs, mostly fish, to Trat.
Prasoet Siri, chairman of the Trat Chamber of Commerce, said that despite the ongoing dispute between the two governments, Cambodian and Thai merchants at the border market get along well.
“They are like brothers. There is never a fight,” he said. “However, both sides have been buying goods to stockpile because the merchants are waiting to see what will happen, lowering market activity by 30 percent over the last few months.”
Bun Na, a 45-year-old Koh Kong resident who has navigated a boat transporting goods from Trat province’s S Kittawan Port for 10 years, said there was no noticeable change in shipping patterns.
“I do not see any decline in goods shipments from this port over to Koh Kong,” said Bun Na. “Thai merchants here told me that Cambodians are nearly their sole prospects. If they do not do business with the Khmer, there will be no one to do business with.”
Bun Na said that trade with Koh Kong was only active on the Thai side because there were few products exported to Thailand from Koh Kong.
“Anytime I ship consumer goods or construction materials from Thailand to Koh Kong, my boat returns empty,” he said.
Thailand’s exports to the Kingdom were worth just over US$1 billion in the first eight months of the year, a drop of 30.29 percent on the same period last year and more than 25 times Cambodia’s exports in the other direction.
Up to the end of August, the Kingdom exported just $39 million in goods to Thailand, according to figures from the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh – mostly garments, unprocessed agricultural products, fish and recyclable metal.
Discussing the possibility of border closures in a November 8 speech, Prime Minister Hun Sen said, “People from both sides will lose benefits [from closing border gates], but Cambodia will not face a huge income loss like Thailand,” adding that such a move by Bangkok would be against the will of its own people.
Chan Ra, a jewellery vendor at the Hadlex market on the Thai border with Koh Kong, said: “95 percent of customers are Thais, and they still do shopping in the market as normal; we do not see any hostility among the people,” he said.
Prasoet Siri said that Hadlex market on the Thai side of border had 60 stalls, and that 70 percent of vendors there were Cambodian.
28 November, 2009
Thai and Cambodian defense ministers vow to keep peace
The Washington Post
By Ambika Ahuja
Reuters
Friday, November 27, 2009; 2:37 AM
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand and Cambodia said on Friday a recent diplomatic row will not lead to conflict on their heavily armed common border where troops have clashed in deadly exchanges in the past year.
Relations deteriorated after the appointment of former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, on the run from a graft conviction, as an adviser to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who infuriated Thai authorities by hosting Thaksin this month.
Cambodia rejected Bangkok's request to extradite Thaksin, who was sentenced in absentia to two years in prison for violating a conflict-of-interest law in Thailand.
"Thai and Cambodian armed forces will support every mechanism between the two countries to improve ties," Thai Defense Minister Prawit Wongsuwan told a news conference after meeting his Cambodian counterpart in Pattaya, southeast of Bangkok.
"The highest goal would be the safety of the public and sustainable peace at the border," he said after a two-day meeting of the Thai-Cambodia General Border Committee, a forum that meets a few times a year to discuss military ties.
The two countries recalled their ambassadors in the Thaksin row and Cambodia arrested a Thai engineer working for Cambodia Air Traffic Services, accusing him of sending Thaksin's flight schedule to a Thai diplomat, who was expelled by Phnom Penh.
The row raised concerns that tension may escalate, leading to more armed clashes at the border.
But following Thaksin's departure from Cambodia, officials on both sides of the border have been more measured and deliberate in their comments and Thailand held back on plans to freeze low-interest loans to its neighbor.
"Cambodia will not do anything that would affect the public in both countries. We will avoid any action that would lead to a conflict between the two countries," Cambodian Defense Minister Gen Tea Banh told the news conference.
Sovereignty over land surrounding an 11th century temple, Preah Vihear, has been disputed by Thailand and Cambodia since the withdrawal of the French in the 1950s.
The International Court of Justice awarded sovereignty over the temple to Cambodia in 1962, a ruling which still upsets many Thais. The surrounding land remains in dispute because the two countries use different maps.
Nationalist passions have flared on both sides of border following Cambodia's bid to have the ancient temple designated a UNESCO World Heritage site last year. Both countries deployed troops to the border over the dispute, leading to skirmishes that left at least seven soldiers dead.
Cambodia said on November 13 it withdrew 1,000 special forces troops from the area, though others remained.
On Friday, Prawit said the troops on both sides had a "peaceful relationship." But the two did not make any commitment to withdraw troops from the disputed land surrounding Preah Vihear, a move which would require parliamentary approval in Thailand.
Thaksin was ousted in a coup in 2006 but remains at the heart of a political conflict in Thailand which have seen protests and counter-protests in support and opposition of the toppled premier.
(Writing by Ambika AHuja; Editing by Jason Szep)
By Ambika Ahuja
Reuters
Friday, November 27, 2009; 2:37 AM
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand and Cambodia said on Friday a recent diplomatic row will not lead to conflict on their heavily armed common border where troops have clashed in deadly exchanges in the past year.
Relations deteriorated after the appointment of former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, on the run from a graft conviction, as an adviser to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who infuriated Thai authorities by hosting Thaksin this month.
Cambodia rejected Bangkok's request to extradite Thaksin, who was sentenced in absentia to two years in prison for violating a conflict-of-interest law in Thailand.
"Thai and Cambodian armed forces will support every mechanism between the two countries to improve ties," Thai Defense Minister Prawit Wongsuwan told a news conference after meeting his Cambodian counterpart in Pattaya, southeast of Bangkok.
"The highest goal would be the safety of the public and sustainable peace at the border," he said after a two-day meeting of the Thai-Cambodia General Border Committee, a forum that meets a few times a year to discuss military ties.
The two countries recalled their ambassadors in the Thaksin row and Cambodia arrested a Thai engineer working for Cambodia Air Traffic Services, accusing him of sending Thaksin's flight schedule to a Thai diplomat, who was expelled by Phnom Penh.
The row raised concerns that tension may escalate, leading to more armed clashes at the border.
But following Thaksin's departure from Cambodia, officials on both sides of the border have been more measured and deliberate in their comments and Thailand held back on plans to freeze low-interest loans to its neighbor.
"Cambodia will not do anything that would affect the public in both countries. We will avoid any action that would lead to a conflict between the two countries," Cambodian Defense Minister Gen Tea Banh told the news conference.
Sovereignty over land surrounding an 11th century temple, Preah Vihear, has been disputed by Thailand and Cambodia since the withdrawal of the French in the 1950s.
The International Court of Justice awarded sovereignty over the temple to Cambodia in 1962, a ruling which still upsets many Thais. The surrounding land remains in dispute because the two countries use different maps.
Nationalist passions have flared on both sides of border following Cambodia's bid to have the ancient temple designated a UNESCO World Heritage site last year. Both countries deployed troops to the border over the dispute, leading to skirmishes that left at least seven soldiers dead.
Cambodia said on November 13 it withdrew 1,000 special forces troops from the area, though others remained.
On Friday, Prawit said the troops on both sides had a "peaceful relationship." But the two did not make any commitment to withdraw troops from the disputed land surrounding Preah Vihear, a move which would require parliamentary approval in Thailand.
Thaksin was ousted in a coup in 2006 but remains at the heart of a political conflict in Thailand which have seen protests and counter-protests in support and opposition of the toppled premier.
(Writing by Ambika AHuja; Editing by Jason Szep)
Q+A: How bad is the Thai-Cambodian spat?
Reuters
Fri Nov 27, 2009 2:37am EST
(Reuters) - Thailand and Cambodia are embroiled in a diplomatic stand-off over the appointment of former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, on the run from a graft conviction, as an adviser to the Cambodian government.
Rivalry between the two neighbors dates back centuries and tensions are never far from the surface. But ties have sunk to their lowest in almost seven years, with both sides recalling their ambassadors and freezing agreements.
Their defense ministers met on Friday, saying military ties were strong and there was no risk of conflict [ID:nBKK529850]. But tensions remain high on the heavily armed border.
WHAT CAUSED THE LATEST FLARE-UP?
The Thai government sees Thaksin's new job as a slap in the face, but what seems to have irked Bangkok so much is Cambodia's refusal to extradite him, should a request be made, using the argument that his graft conviction was politically motivated.
That is seen as an attack on Thailand's judicial system.
There are other reasons, however. Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has had enough trouble from the self-exiled Thaksin as it is, and the prospect of him wielding his sizable influence from across the border could hamper his efforts to bring stability to his deeply polarized country.
WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF TENSIONS?
There is no love lost between the two countries. Cambodia's Khmer Empire, dating back to the ninth century, was once the dominant power in the region and ruled over much of modern Thailand from its Angkor Wat complex, prompting many rebellions.
A big source of tension is Preah Vihear, an 11th century temple straddling their disputed border. Although an international court awarded it to Cambodia in 1962, it is still the source of nationalist squabbles that have led to deadly border skirmishes.
As recently as September, Cambodia accused Thai soldiers of burning a boy alive after shooting at villagers in the area.
Diplomatic ties were severed in 2003 for almost three months after Cambodians went on the rampage in Phnom Penh, torching the Thai embassy and vandalizing Thai businesses over an unsubstantiated rumor that a famous Thai actress had claimed Angkor Wat belonged to Thailand.
ARE TENSIONS GETTING WORSE?
Following Thaksin's departure from Cambodia on November 14, officials on both sides of the border have been more measured in their comments.
Thailand held back on plans to freeze low-interest loans to Cambodia and welcomed access to a Thai national detained in Cambodia charged with spying. The scheduled meeting between Thai and Cambodia defense ministers in Pattaya this week was not postponed as earlier expected.
Defense ministers are discussing broad security and joint development-related issues. They did not make any commitment to withdraw troops from disputed land surrounding Preah Vihear temple, a move that would require parliamentary approval in Thailand.
SHOULD INVESTORS IN CAMBODIA BE ALARMED?
Not yet. Cambodia's economy depends heavily on China, Japan and South Korea, and very little on Thailand, which in turn relies on its neighbor for just 0.05 percent of total imports.
Despite endemic corruption and various internal problems, investors are still drawn to Cambodia and it is unlikely the latest tit-for-tat row with Thailand will change anything.
Providing the border remains open and peace prevails, it will not make much difference. However, the thousands of Thais that flock to Cambodia's border casinos each week might think twice about a flutter while tensions remain high.
(Reporting by Jason Szep, Ambika Ahuja and Martin Petty; Editing by Alan Raybould)
Fri Nov 27, 2009 2:37am EST
(Reuters) - Thailand and Cambodia are embroiled in a diplomatic stand-off over the appointment of former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, on the run from a graft conviction, as an adviser to the Cambodian government.
Rivalry between the two neighbors dates back centuries and tensions are never far from the surface. But ties have sunk to their lowest in almost seven years, with both sides recalling their ambassadors and freezing agreements.
Their defense ministers met on Friday, saying military ties were strong and there was no risk of conflict [ID:nBKK529850]. But tensions remain high on the heavily armed border.
WHAT CAUSED THE LATEST FLARE-UP?
The Thai government sees Thaksin's new job as a slap in the face, but what seems to have irked Bangkok so much is Cambodia's refusal to extradite him, should a request be made, using the argument that his graft conviction was politically motivated.
That is seen as an attack on Thailand's judicial system.
There are other reasons, however. Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has had enough trouble from the self-exiled Thaksin as it is, and the prospect of him wielding his sizable influence from across the border could hamper his efforts to bring stability to his deeply polarized country.
WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF TENSIONS?
There is no love lost between the two countries. Cambodia's Khmer Empire, dating back to the ninth century, was once the dominant power in the region and ruled over much of modern Thailand from its Angkor Wat complex, prompting many rebellions.
A big source of tension is Preah Vihear, an 11th century temple straddling their disputed border. Although an international court awarded it to Cambodia in 1962, it is still the source of nationalist squabbles that have led to deadly border skirmishes.
As recently as September, Cambodia accused Thai soldiers of burning a boy alive after shooting at villagers in the area.
Diplomatic ties were severed in 2003 for almost three months after Cambodians went on the rampage in Phnom Penh, torching the Thai embassy and vandalizing Thai businesses over an unsubstantiated rumor that a famous Thai actress had claimed Angkor Wat belonged to Thailand.
ARE TENSIONS GETTING WORSE?
Following Thaksin's departure from Cambodia on November 14, officials on both sides of the border have been more measured in their comments.
Thailand held back on plans to freeze low-interest loans to Cambodia and welcomed access to a Thai national detained in Cambodia charged with spying. The scheduled meeting between Thai and Cambodia defense ministers in Pattaya this week was not postponed as earlier expected.
Defense ministers are discussing broad security and joint development-related issues. They did not make any commitment to withdraw troops from disputed land surrounding Preah Vihear temple, a move that would require parliamentary approval in Thailand.
SHOULD INVESTORS IN CAMBODIA BE ALARMED?
Not yet. Cambodia's economy depends heavily on China, Japan and South Korea, and very little on Thailand, which in turn relies on its neighbor for just 0.05 percent of total imports.
Despite endemic corruption and various internal problems, investors are still drawn to Cambodia and it is unlikely the latest tit-for-tat row with Thailand will change anything.
Providing the border remains open and peace prevails, it will not make much difference. However, the thousands of Thais that flock to Cambodia's border casinos each week might think twice about a flutter while tensions remain high.
(Reporting by Jason Szep, Ambika Ahuja and Martin Petty; Editing by Alan Raybould)
26 November, 2009
Immediate Release: Top 20 Finalists of Garment Workers to Compete
JOINT PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Top 20 Finalists of Garment Workers to Compete
at 'I am Precious' 2009 Fashion Show
Top 20 finalists of Cambodian garment workers will compete in a dress and T-shirt fashion show marking the final event of 'I am Precious' 2009 campaign. Ten dresses and ten T-shirts designed by the finalists will be presented on a catwalk. The winners from each category will be announced this Sunday 29 November at 4:00pm at Chaktomuk Conference Hall.
'I am Precious' campaign and competition aims to promote self value of garment workers by increasing awareness of their work, abilities and skills and encouraging them to realize their potential. The competition also aims to showcase that there are rewarding careers in the industry. The campaign hopes to broaden garment workers' opportunities for career growth while contributing to industry's reputation and to the economic and social development of Cambodia. Moreover, the campaign contributes to the positive image of the industry globally through international brands involvement.
The event will be presided by H.E. Dr. Ing Kantha Phavi, Minister of Women's Affairs and attended by governmental and UN dignitaries, stakeholders from the Cambodian garment industry and garment workers.
The second edition of the 'I am Precious' campaign and competition with this year's theme 'Made-in-Cambodia' was launched mid July and opened for entries for two months. This resulted over 1,100 submissions of dress and T-shirt designs received from 465 workers working in 35 garment factories.
The selected top ten designs of each category are made into dresses and T-shirts and will be judged by two separate panels composed of government representatives and experts from the Cambodian garment and fashion industry. The winners will be awarded prizes.
Prizes include pattern making training course, health insurance, reproductive health care service, sewing machines, TVs, bicycles, Wing accounts with mobile phones and SIM cards, dresses and T-shirts designed by finalists themselves and cash. Moreover, the first winner for T-shirt design will be co-designing a new T-shirt to be distributed to garment workers. The prizes are sponsored by H&M, Levi Strauss & Co., Disney, GAP, Wing, Marie Stopes International Cambodia and many others.
'I am Precious' is a joint campaign under a collaboration of Ministry of Women's Affairs (MoWA), Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training (MoLVT), Ministry of Commerce (MoC), ILO Better Factories Cambodia, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Garment Manufacturers' Association in Cambodia (GMAC), Garment Industry Productivity Center (GIPC), Unions and Precious Girl Magazine.
The fashion show starts on Sunday 29, November 2009 4:00pm at Chaktomuk Conference Hall on Sisowath Quay. This event is open to the press.
For more information please contact:
For Immediate Release
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Top 20 Finalists of Garment Workers to Compete
at 'I am Precious' 2009 Fashion Show
Top 20 finalists of Cambodian garment workers will compete in a dress and T-shirt fashion show marking the final event of 'I am Precious' 2009 campaign. Ten dresses and ten T-shirts designed by the finalists will be presented on a catwalk. The winners from each category will be announced this Sunday 29 November at 4:00pm at Chaktomuk Conference Hall.
'I am Precious' campaign and competition aims to promote self value of garment workers by increasing awareness of their work, abilities and skills and encouraging them to realize their potential. The competition also aims to showcase that there are rewarding careers in the industry. The campaign hopes to broaden garment workers' opportunities for career growth while contributing to industry's reputation and to the economic and social development of Cambodia. Moreover, the campaign contributes to the positive image of the industry globally through international brands involvement.
The event will be presided by H.E. Dr. Ing Kantha Phavi, Minister of Women's Affairs and attended by governmental and UN dignitaries, stakeholders from the Cambodian garment industry and garment workers.
The second edition of the 'I am Precious' campaign and competition with this year's theme 'Made-in-Cambodia' was launched mid July and opened for entries for two months. This resulted over 1,100 submissions of dress and T-shirt designs received from 465 workers working in 35 garment factories.
The selected top ten designs of each category are made into dresses and T-shirts and will be judged by two separate panels composed of government representatives and experts from the Cambodian garment and fashion industry. The winners will be awarded prizes.
Prizes include pattern making training course, health insurance, reproductive health care service, sewing machines, TVs, bicycles, Wing accounts with mobile phones and SIM cards, dresses and T-shirts designed by finalists themselves and cash. Moreover, the first winner for T-shirt design will be co-designing a new T-shirt to be distributed to garment workers. The prizes are sponsored by H&M, Levi Strauss & Co., Disney, GAP, Wing, Marie Stopes International Cambodia and many others.
'I am Precious' is a joint campaign under a collaboration of Ministry of Women's Affairs (MoWA), Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training (MoLVT), Ministry of Commerce (MoC), ILO Better Factories Cambodia, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Garment Manufacturers' Association in Cambodia (GMAC), Garment Industry Productivity Center (GIPC), Unions and Precious Girl Magazine.
The fashion show starts on Sunday 29, November 2009 4:00pm at Chaktomuk Conference Hall on Sisowath Quay. This event is open to the press.
For more information please contact:
For more information please contact:
Mr. Vuth Lyno Ms. Botumroath Lebun
Communications Officer Communications Officer
ILO Better Factories
Email: g6bfc@ilo.org Email: Botumroath.Lebun@undp.org
Tel: 012 756 765 Tel: 012 885 727
The Big Question: What is the Commonwealth's role, and is it relevant to global politics?
Thursday, 26 November 2009
Why are we asking this now?
In an international calendar full to bursting with uncomfortable acronyms it's time for one of the worst of them: CHOGM. The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting convenes in Trinidad and Tobago tomorrow for its bi-annual get together, which can ordinarily be counted upon to be in one of the warmer member states. Last time it was Uganda.
The agenda this year is dominated by the expected acceptance of Rwanda into the fold, something which nations such as Britain, Australia, Canada and Uganda have lobbied hard for. Those less happy with the newcomer to the club are the agencies that have examined Rwanda's troubled record on human rights and found it wanting. They have lobbied against the central African country's acceptance.
What exactly is the Commonwealth?
That depends, both on who is asking and who is answering. Formerly the "British Commonwealth", the modern version came into being 50 years ago, shedding the British part of its tag and becoming the Commonwealth of Nations. The old club of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa has since swollen to 54 countries, until it lost Zimbabwe, and is expected to return to that number during the coming weekend.
To its supporters it is a British foreign policy success story that has come to encompass every region, religion and race on the planet, something no other organistation apart from the UN can boast. It enables otherwise isolated and impoverished nations to network with powerful allies and be, in the words of one booster, "a decent club... which confers a sense of identity... no more no less." While its membership is almost entirely made up of English-speaking former colonies that share a legal system and often a constitutional framework, Britain is no longer dominant in what is a voluntary association.
Are there any dissenters?
Yes. Many. Some see the Commonwealth as a peculiarly British consolation prize for the loss of Empire, that bolsters the UK's sense of importance while doing almost nothing else. A collection of not very important states brought together by the unhappy accident of having been colonised by the English.
It talks in high ideals but trades in a much more compromised reality, offering abusive regimes a fig-leaf of legitimacy and a platform that they would otherwise have to look for at the more crowded but equally grubby UN. Considering that it confers no trade priveleges, has no influence on defence or economic policy, no executive authority and no sensible budget to play a global role it remains a talking shop at best and at worst a costly junket. The countries that can would be better served by spending their time and money on organisations like Nato, the UN or trade blocs like the European Union.
Does anyone else want to join and, if so, why?
Yes they do. In fact, there's a queue. Sitting behind expectant Rwanda are Madagascar, Yemen, Algeria and Sudan. Previous unsuccessful suitors have included Cambodia and Palestine, while those with an appetite for being shouted at have even suggested this year that Ireland might rejoin.
As to why – there are several suggestions, and different aspirants offer differing explanations. Meetings like CHOGM give smaller nations the chance to lobby for bi-lateral trade deals, to influence the positions of bigger powers at forums with real bite like the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Its formal and informal channels benefit the little guy, something that Guyana demonstrated when it floated its offer to protect the entirety of its standing forest in return for development aid on the sidelines of the Uganda meeting in 2007. Britain, eventually, declined but the idea got media coverage and Norway took them up on it this month to the tune of $250m.
Are those the only reasons?
Not exactly. A second look at the list suggests some worrying truths. Nations like Sudan, Yemen and to a lesser extent Madagascar may well like the Commonwealth precisely because it doesn't have the power to enforce international norms and has to rely on "constructive engagement" - a staple of regime's from Khartoum to Pyongyang in North Korea. A talking shop which offers access to development aid and informal trade talks while conferring prestige and an international platform is hard to dislike. Let's not forget it also offers access to the Commonwealth Games, an international sporting event where the competition is so modest that even the UK can expect a decent medal haul and which was memorably introduced by the sports writer Frank Keating as "a bucketload of pointless contrivance."
Which high ideals does the Commonwealth espouse?
On the tin it says that the grouping is about promoting democracy, good governance, human rights and prosperity. The Harare declaration in 1991 is billed as the Commonwealth's core set of principles and values. Those include: world peace, economic development, the rule of law, a narrowing of the wealth gap, an end to racial discrimination, liberty regardless of race or creed and the "inalienable right to free democratic processes".
The setting for this declaration could hardly be more poignant. Since 1991 Zimbabwe's life expectancy has imploded, the regime has stoked vicious racial politics, collapsed the economy and stolen elections. The reaction of the high-minded Commonwealth was labelled "spineless" in 2002 by this newspaper, as it dithered over ejecting Robert Mugabe's government, which walked out by itself the following year. Since then it has, in the words of the eminent constitutional expert Yashpal Ghai, "looked desperately for ways of doing nothing" about a host of crises. And only reluctantly suspended Pakistan, twice, and Fiji, once. Professor Ghai's assessment is that the grouping "couldn't care less about human rights".
What about the Queen?
All this leaves Her Majesty on a plane to Trinidad and Tobago, where she will attend to the latest CHOGM with typical seriousness. This despite 33 of her family of nations being republics, five having their own monarchs and only the remainder having her as their head of state. Of them, Australia and Canada now openly debate and ocassionally vote on whether they still want Elizabeth II. When looking for a reason why the Republic of Ireland will not rejoin one need look no further, and it's hard to see Omar al-Bashir of Sudan rewriting the constitution in order to curry favour.
Does the Commonwealth still matter?
Yes...
* The Commonwealth provides a space where big and small nations can speak as equals
* It's a voluntary association and if it wasn't performing properly there wouldn't be a queue to join
* It encourages developing members to raise their standard of democracy, rights and governance
No...
* It talks about ideals that it doesn't uphold and offers a fig-leaf of legitimacy to damaging regimes
* It wastes the time of governments that would be better spent on regional trade blocs and pacts that matter
* Once every four years it provides England with the false impression that it can win things in the sporting arena
Counting the cost of carbon
The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 05 November 2009 15:01 Tom Evans
A new biodiversity reserve in Mondulkiri will enable Cambodia to exploit the nascent international market for carbon credits.
Photo by: PHOTO SUPPLIED
The newly designated Seima Protected Forest in Mondulkiri, viewed from the O’Rang station, could allow Cambodia to generate millions of dollars by selling carbon credits.
Recently, the Post reported the Cambodian government’s decision to create a large new reserve in Mondulkiri.
The Seima Protection Forest will safeguard threatened species and vulnerable indigenous communities, but the new twist was that this is also the first reserve Cambodia has created with the explicit aim of conserving carbon stocks.
New economic opportunities from carbon-offset trading almost certainly helped to convince the Council of Ministers to add another to Cambodia’s already long list of reserves and sanctuaries. It comes hot on the heels of a decision to try carbon-trading from community forests in Oddar Meanchey.
Trading in forest carbon is still in its early days but may well become a multi-billion-dollar sector worldwide, creating strong positive incentives to keep forests standing and bringing new hope to embattled conservationists in sites like Seima all around the world.
However, dealing in this new financial arena raises many questions for the practice of conservation and brings risks as well. Learning by doing at Seima will help the government and its NGO and donor partners prepare for national-scale implementation and also feedback into the development of the still-embryonic global carbon-governance systems.
The concept of trading in “avoided deforestation” is not new. It was shelved during negotiation of the Kyoto Protocol a decade ago, but key technical issues have now been overcome, and, just as importantly, most decision makers now believe that it is right.
Some vocal critics still hold that paying for carbon offsets overseas lets polluters in the developed world off the hook, but the centre position is now that this either/or distinction is irrelevant, and deep cuts will be needed in both deforestation and industrial emissions if runaway climate change is to be averted. Tonne for tonne, emissions from deforestation are cheaper to deal with than many others, so it makes little sense to focus only on the more expensive solutions.
World leaders decided back in 2007 that forest carbon would be included in the successor to Kyoto, but with only a few weeks to go until the decisive Copenhagen summit, major political wrangles continue. While we await clarity, a voluntary market in carbon credits has grown up, driven by organisations wishing to demonstrate their green credentials now and perhaps reap the benefits of being early adopters in the future compliance market.
A carbon credit is a seemingly insubstantial thing, a document certifying that something that could have happened did not, so great pains are being taken to raise the confidence of buyers that they represent something concrete. Seima and the Oddar Meanchey project will be audited against the Voluntary Carbon Standard, a globally accepted framework for proving that avoided deforestation claims are real. The requirements are complex, expensive and onerous, since the authors were anxious to avoid the loopholes that have reduced trust in other forms of carbon offset trading. Accurate measurement is mandatory. For the past six months, survey teams from the Cambodian Forestry Administration and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) have crisscrossed Seima, measuring trees, bamboo and dead wood on hundreds of forest plots, then felled and weighed several entire trees to determine total carbon content. At the same time, analysts have studied a decade of recent satellite images to allow prediction of future deforestation rates in the absence of the carbon project. This provides a baseline against which we can, in future, compare the real results of the project and calculate what damage was avoided – and so can be claimed in credit. It is as counterintuitive as it sounds, but the alternative – simply paying for standing stocks of carbon – would mean paying for protection of large areas under no risk of deforestation; a questionable use of funds.
Additionality and permanence are two other key requirements. Additionality means proof that the emission reductions would not otherwise have occurred. In Seima, deforestation rates have been reined in but continue to rise, despite the best efforts of a conservation team limited in part by funds and in part by some doubt regarding the long-term legal future of the forest. The latter has been resolved with the declaration of the protection forest, and carbon funds will soon enable patrolling, community outreach, titling of indigenous lands and direct incentives to villagers to be implemented fully across the whole reserve for the first time. To back our arguments showing the permanence and durability of project design, the Voluntary Carbon Standard will also require Seima to place a large percentage of its credits, unsold, into a buffer reserve, pooled across many projects globally, which acts as an insurance policy if any sites should fail through mismanagement or misfortune.
Although this certification is hard, in a sense it is the easy part. Trading the resulting credits will take the government of Cambodia and partner organisations into uncharted waters where millions of dollars are at stake. WCS has useful prior experience to share, since it assisted the government of Madagascar to set up the Makira Protected Area as a carbon project in 2004 and has since helped to broker sales of 140,000 tonnes of credits. Many of the buyers are major financial institutions accustomed to driving hard bargains, and there are difficult choices to be made between holding out for the best prices and forming long-term agreements with for-profit brokers or buyers who offer the investment capital needed to get a project started. The greatest risks are perhaps on the upside, since speculators might make high profits that could have accrued to the country if currently low forest-carbon prices soar when large compliance markets open.
After sales, there will be a new series of challenges to overcome. To ensure a flow of fresh credits and sustain investor confidence, the state needs to ensure that enough of the revenues are spent on permanent forest protection and community incentives, and that the net revenue is spent in a transparent way. Environmental and social safeguards also come into play.
For its part, Cambodia has signalled through its choice of pilots that community protection and benefits will remain a top priority. There are concerns, however, that in countries where no such commitments have been made, unscrupulous governments and private companies will wrongly displace poor forest dwellers to generate easy credits. While the Voluntary Standard guards against this, compliance markets might not. It is a positive sign that price premiums already exist for credits that go beyond carbon to include net benefits for community and wildlife; the Cambodian pilots will aim to certify this added value under the standard of the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance, so helping Cambodia to leverage the greatest possible benefits from its finest forests.
Cambodia stands to benefit significantly from forest-carbon markets. If they work as planned over the coming decades, the country will be able to develop and industrialise without having to liquidate most of its forest for capital, as today’s industrialised countries once did. To make it happen, government and other stakeholders are going to need to learn quickly, keep learning as policies evolve and, above all, cooperate in forest protection and revenue management in as transparent a manner as possible. The first key steps have been taken on this road, but there is a long way to go.
Thursday, 05 November 2009 15:01 Tom Evans
A new biodiversity reserve in Mondulkiri will enable Cambodia to exploit the nascent international market for carbon credits.
Photo by: PHOTO SUPPLIED
The newly designated Seima Protected Forest in Mondulkiri, viewed from the O’Rang station, could allow Cambodia to generate millions of dollars by selling carbon credits.
Recently, the Post reported the Cambodian government’s decision to create a large new reserve in Mondulkiri.
The Seima Protection Forest will safeguard threatened species and vulnerable indigenous communities, but the new twist was that this is also the first reserve Cambodia has created with the explicit aim of conserving carbon stocks.
New economic opportunities from carbon-offset trading almost certainly helped to convince the Council of Ministers to add another to Cambodia’s already long list of reserves and sanctuaries. It comes hot on the heels of a decision to try carbon-trading from community forests in Oddar Meanchey.
Trading in forest carbon is still in its early days but may well become a multi-billion-dollar sector worldwide, creating strong positive incentives to keep forests standing and bringing new hope to embattled conservationists in sites like Seima all around the world.
However, dealing in this new financial arena raises many questions for the practice of conservation and brings risks as well. Learning by doing at Seima will help the government and its NGO and donor partners prepare for national-scale implementation and also feedback into the development of the still-embryonic global carbon-governance systems.
The concept of trading in “avoided deforestation” is not new. It was shelved during negotiation of the Kyoto Protocol a decade ago, but key technical issues have now been overcome, and, just as importantly, most decision makers now believe that it is right.
Some vocal critics still hold that paying for carbon offsets overseas lets polluters in the developed world off the hook, but the centre position is now that this either/or distinction is irrelevant, and deep cuts will be needed in both deforestation and industrial emissions if runaway climate change is to be averted. Tonne for tonne, emissions from deforestation are cheaper to deal with than many others, so it makes little sense to focus only on the more expensive solutions.
World leaders decided back in 2007 that forest carbon would be included in the successor to Kyoto, but with only a few weeks to go until the decisive Copenhagen summit, major political wrangles continue. While we await clarity, a voluntary market in carbon credits has grown up, driven by organisations wishing to demonstrate their green credentials now and perhaps reap the benefits of being early adopters in the future compliance market.
A carbon credit is a seemingly insubstantial thing, a document certifying that something that could have happened did not, so great pains are being taken to raise the confidence of buyers that they represent something concrete. Seima and the Oddar Meanchey project will be audited against the Voluntary Carbon Standard, a globally accepted framework for proving that avoided deforestation claims are real. The requirements are complex, expensive and onerous, since the authors were anxious to avoid the loopholes that have reduced trust in other forms of carbon offset trading. Accurate measurement is mandatory. For the past six months, survey teams from the Cambodian Forestry Administration and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) have crisscrossed Seima, measuring trees, bamboo and dead wood on hundreds of forest plots, then felled and weighed several entire trees to determine total carbon content. At the same time, analysts have studied a decade of recent satellite images to allow prediction of future deforestation rates in the absence of the carbon project. This provides a baseline against which we can, in future, compare the real results of the project and calculate what damage was avoided – and so can be claimed in credit. It is as counterintuitive as it sounds, but the alternative – simply paying for standing stocks of carbon – would mean paying for protection of large areas under no risk of deforestation; a questionable use of funds.
Additionality and permanence are two other key requirements. Additionality means proof that the emission reductions would not otherwise have occurred. In Seima, deforestation rates have been reined in but continue to rise, despite the best efforts of a conservation team limited in part by funds and in part by some doubt regarding the long-term legal future of the forest. The latter has been resolved with the declaration of the protection forest, and carbon funds will soon enable patrolling, community outreach, titling of indigenous lands and direct incentives to villagers to be implemented fully across the whole reserve for the first time. To back our arguments showing the permanence and durability of project design, the Voluntary Carbon Standard will also require Seima to place a large percentage of its credits, unsold, into a buffer reserve, pooled across many projects globally, which acts as an insurance policy if any sites should fail through mismanagement or misfortune.
Although this certification is hard, in a sense it is the easy part. Trading the resulting credits will take the government of Cambodia and partner organisations into uncharted waters where millions of dollars are at stake. WCS has useful prior experience to share, since it assisted the government of Madagascar to set up the Makira Protected Area as a carbon project in 2004 and has since helped to broker sales of 140,000 tonnes of credits. Many of the buyers are major financial institutions accustomed to driving hard bargains, and there are difficult choices to be made between holding out for the best prices and forming long-term agreements with for-profit brokers or buyers who offer the investment capital needed to get a project started. The greatest risks are perhaps on the upside, since speculators might make high profits that could have accrued to the country if currently low forest-carbon prices soar when large compliance markets open.
After sales, there will be a new series of challenges to overcome. To ensure a flow of fresh credits and sustain investor confidence, the state needs to ensure that enough of the revenues are spent on permanent forest protection and community incentives, and that the net revenue is spent in a transparent way. Environmental and social safeguards also come into play.
For its part, Cambodia has signalled through its choice of pilots that community protection and benefits will remain a top priority. There are concerns, however, that in countries where no such commitments have been made, unscrupulous governments and private companies will wrongly displace poor forest dwellers to generate easy credits. While the Voluntary Standard guards against this, compliance markets might not. It is a positive sign that price premiums already exist for credits that go beyond carbon to include net benefits for community and wildlife; the Cambodian pilots will aim to certify this added value under the standard of the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance, so helping Cambodia to leverage the greatest possible benefits from its finest forests.
Cambodia stands to benefit significantly from forest-carbon markets. If they work as planned over the coming decades, the country will be able to develop and industrialise without having to liquidate most of its forest for capital, as today’s industrialised countries once did. To make it happen, government and other stakeholders are going to need to learn quickly, keep learning as policies evolve and, above all, cooperate in forest protection and revenue management in as transparent a manner as possible. The first key steps have been taken on this road, but there is a long way to go.
NGO law is on the horizon
The Phnom Penh Post
Wednesday, 25 November 2009 15:03 Sebastian Strangio and Khouth Sophak Chakrya
PRIME Minister Hun Sen announced Tuesday that the government has moved ahead with drafting a law to regulate the activities of NGOs, prompting fresh concerns that the proposed legislation will be used to clamp down on the activities of advocacy groups.
At a ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of the cooperation between NGOs and the government, Hun Sen said the presence of 3,000 NGOs in Cambodia requires new rules to weed out groups engaged in “opposition” politics.
“NGOs demand that the government shows transparency, but they can’t show the same to us,” he said.
“We respect the local and international NGOs whose activities serve humanity and help the government of Cambodia.... They will not be threatened by this draft law. But we believe that some NGOs whose activities seem to serve the opposition party will be afraid of it.”
Hun Sen also said that after the overthrow of the Khmer Rouge in 1979, very few NGOs came to Cambodia’s assistance due to an aid embargo among Western nations, but that now there were thousands of groups, some of which used their NGO status as a cloak to “play politics and support the opposition party”.
The premier’s comments echoed statements made at a cabinet meeting in September last year, in which he expressed concerns that NGO funding could come from “terrorist groups”.
Despite Hun Sen’s assurances that the new law will not restrict the scope of NGO activities, some civil society activists are concerned it could conflate advocacy with political affiliation.
“Some associations and NGOs are mandated to do national and international advocacy on human rights and other issues, but it should not be concluded that these groups are affiliated with any political parties,” said Naly Pilorge, director of rights group Licadho. “NGOs are by nature nongovernmental and non-political.”
She said that from communications with the ministries of Interior and Foreign Affairs, Licadho had learned that the draft law will cover both international and local associations.
“I do not understand why a law for associations and NGOs needs to be drafted to combat terrorism and other crimes when existing laws already cover such crimes,” she added.
Sin Somuny, executive director of Medicam, a national umbrella organisation for health-sector NGOs, said it was fair to ask that NGOs practice what they preach in terms of transparency, but that the potentially broad definition of “political interference” made the new law a hazard for advocacy groups.
“In America, NGOs advocate for policy change – are these kinds of things considered ‘politics’? If they are, what kind of role can civil society play?” he said.
Sin Somuny, a speaker at Tuesday’s ceremony, said that though NGO activists and opposition politicians often fall on the same side of arguments, their relationship is “ambiguous” and did not indicate any allegiance.
Chith Sam Ath, executive director of the NGO Forum on Cambodia, said he “welcomed” the premier’s comments that the law would not restrict the NGO activities but could not comment further, as he had not read the draft law.
Wednesday, 25 November 2009 15:03 Sebastian Strangio and Khouth Sophak Chakrya
PRIME Minister Hun Sen announced Tuesday that the government has moved ahead with drafting a law to regulate the activities of NGOs, prompting fresh concerns that the proposed legislation will be used to clamp down on the activities of advocacy groups.
At a ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of the cooperation between NGOs and the government, Hun Sen said the presence of 3,000 NGOs in Cambodia requires new rules to weed out groups engaged in “opposition” politics.
“NGOs demand that the government shows transparency, but they can’t show the same to us,” he said.
“We respect the local and international NGOs whose activities serve humanity and help the government of Cambodia.... They will not be threatened by this draft law. But we believe that some NGOs whose activities seem to serve the opposition party will be afraid of it.”
Hun Sen also said that after the overthrow of the Khmer Rouge in 1979, very few NGOs came to Cambodia’s assistance due to an aid embargo among Western nations, but that now there were thousands of groups, some of which used their NGO status as a cloak to “play politics and support the opposition party”.
The premier’s comments echoed statements made at a cabinet meeting in September last year, in which he expressed concerns that NGO funding could come from “terrorist groups”.
Despite Hun Sen’s assurances that the new law will not restrict the scope of NGO activities, some civil society activists are concerned it could conflate advocacy with political affiliation.
“Some associations and NGOs are mandated to do national and international advocacy on human rights and other issues, but it should not be concluded that these groups are affiliated with any political parties,” said Naly Pilorge, director of rights group Licadho. “NGOs are by nature nongovernmental and non-political.”
She said that from communications with the ministries of Interior and Foreign Affairs, Licadho had learned that the draft law will cover both international and local associations.
“I do not understand why a law for associations and NGOs needs to be drafted to combat terrorism and other crimes when existing laws already cover such crimes,” she added.
Sin Somuny, executive director of Medicam, a national umbrella organisation for health-sector NGOs, said it was fair to ask that NGOs practice what they preach in terms of transparency, but that the potentially broad definition of “political interference” made the new law a hazard for advocacy groups.
“In America, NGOs advocate for policy change – are these kinds of things considered ‘politics’? If they are, what kind of role can civil society play?” he said.
Sin Somuny, a speaker at Tuesday’s ceremony, said that though NGO activists and opposition politicians often fall on the same side of arguments, their relationship is “ambiguous” and did not indicate any allegiance.
Chith Sam Ath, executive director of the NGO Forum on Cambodia, said he “welcomed” the premier’s comments that the law would not restrict the NGO activities but could not comment further, as he had not read the draft law.
25 November, 2009
Videos on Better Factoreis Cambodia and Better Work
Videos on Better Factoreis Cambodia and Better Work
10 Years-Better Factories to Better Work (Part 1 of 2)
10 Years-Better Factories to Better Work (Part 2 of 2)
Better Work is a unique partnership between the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The programme was launched in order to improve labour practices and competitiveness in global supply chains.
Better Work supports enterprises in improving their labour standards based on core ILO labour standards and national labour law. This helps enterprises compete in global markets where many buyers demand compliance with labour standards from their suppliers.
Improving labour standards can help enterprises become more competitive by increasing quality and productivity.
10 Years-Better Factories to Better Work (Part 1 of 2)
10 Years-Better Factories to Better Work (Part 2 of 2)
Better Work is a unique partnership between the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The programme was launched in order to improve labour practices and competitiveness in global supply chains.
Better Work supports enterprises in improving their labour standards based on core ILO labour standards and national labour law. This helps enterprises compete in global markets where many buyers demand compliance with labour standards from their suppliers.
Improving labour standards can help enterprises become more competitive by increasing quality and productivity.
UNDP: Cambodia Should Diversify Economy to Ease Pressure on Vulnerable Groups
A new United Nations report says Cambodia needs to diversify the economy to help protect vulnerable groups, such as women workers, from downturns.
VOANews.com
Ron Corben | Bangkok
24 November 2009
===================================================================================
"The quicker we can do to improve competitiveness, the economic diversification the better chance we will recover from the economic downturn," research consultant Chan Sophal says.
===================================================================================
A new United Nations report says Cambodia needs to diversify the economy to help protect vulnerable groups, such as women workers, from downturns. The report also calls for the government to see the current slump as an opportunity to speed up structural changes.
The United Nations Development Program urges the Cambodian government to shift away from relying on the garment industry, which is vulnerable to sharp economic shocks such as the recent financial crisis.
The report, released this week, focuses on Cambodia's challenges; the country has been among those in Asia hit hardest by the collapse in global exports.
It says the poor, especially those in debt, have felt the pain the most.
The garment sector accounts for about 70 percent of Cambodia's export income. The United States is the leading market but exports there fell by over 22 percent in the past year because of the recession.
Nearly all of the workers in Cambodia's garment factories are women, mostly from rural areas. At least 50 factories have closed in the past year, and more than 60,000 workers lost their jobs.
Chan Sophal, lead research consultant on the report, said Tuesday the lack of alternatives means more Cambodian women must work in the entertainment industry. The United Nations Inter-Agency Project on human trafficking sees more young women entering the industry.
"Karaoke parlor, the massage places and the beer promotion industry, and all of those have women at risk in terms of being a disguised sex worker and at the exposure of diseases," Chan said.
The global downturn also hit Cambodia's construction industry, tourism businesses and migrant workers.
But the UNDP report says the crisis should be seen as an opportunity that spurs efforts to address structural weaknesses in the economy.
Chan Sophal says the report calls for institutional reforms, and more equity in public spending to lift the economy and reduce the effects of external shocks.
"This crisis may represent an opportunity for the government to speed up the structural reforms which takes time - but now we have no time," Chan said. "The quicker we can do to improve competitiveness, the economic diversification the better chance we will recover from the economic downturn."
Recently, the International Monetary Fund said garment exports from Cambodia would fall by as much as 15 percent this year.
However, the Asian Development Bank forecasts that the economy will grow just over three percent next year, as the global recovery takes hold and increases clothing exports and tourism arrivals.
VOANews.com
Ron Corben | Bangkok
24 November 2009
===================================================================================
"The quicker we can do to improve competitiveness, the economic diversification the better chance we will recover from the economic downturn," research consultant Chan Sophal says.
===================================================================================
A new United Nations report says Cambodia needs to diversify the economy to help protect vulnerable groups, such as women workers, from downturns. The report also calls for the government to see the current slump as an opportunity to speed up structural changes.
The United Nations Development Program urges the Cambodian government to shift away from relying on the garment industry, which is vulnerable to sharp economic shocks such as the recent financial crisis.
The report, released this week, focuses on Cambodia's challenges; the country has been among those in Asia hit hardest by the collapse in global exports.
It says the poor, especially those in debt, have felt the pain the most.
The garment sector accounts for about 70 percent of Cambodia's export income. The United States is the leading market but exports there fell by over 22 percent in the past year because of the recession.
Nearly all of the workers in Cambodia's garment factories are women, mostly from rural areas. At least 50 factories have closed in the past year, and more than 60,000 workers lost their jobs.
Chan Sophal, lead research consultant on the report, said Tuesday the lack of alternatives means more Cambodian women must work in the entertainment industry. The United Nations Inter-Agency Project on human trafficking sees more young women entering the industry.
"Karaoke parlor, the massage places and the beer promotion industry, and all of those have women at risk in terms of being a disguised sex worker and at the exposure of diseases," Chan said.
The global downturn also hit Cambodia's construction industry, tourism businesses and migrant workers.
But the UNDP report says the crisis should be seen as an opportunity that spurs efforts to address structural weaknesses in the economy.
Chan Sophal says the report calls for institutional reforms, and more equity in public spending to lift the economy and reduce the effects of external shocks.
"This crisis may represent an opportunity for the government to speed up the structural reforms which takes time - but now we have no time," Chan said. "The quicker we can do to improve competitiveness, the economic diversification the better chance we will recover from the economic downturn."
Recently, the International Monetary Fund said garment exports from Cambodia would fall by as much as 15 percent this year.
However, the Asian Development Bank forecasts that the economy will grow just over three percent next year, as the global recovery takes hold and increases clothing exports and tourism arrivals.
24 November, 2009
Exiled Thaksin in Cambodia kicks up trouble for Thailand
Ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has long provoked Thailand's government by rousing opposition at home. Now he's inflamed regional tensions by becoming an economic adviser to rival Cambodia.
By Simon Montlake | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
from the November 23, 2009 edition
Phnom Penh, Cambodia - At a luxury guesthouse, Cambodia's newest government adviser picks up a copy of his latest book, "Tackling Poverty." It explores how lessons from Thailand can be applied to other developing countries.
"I help tackle poverty worldwide, wherever they need me. Why not my neighbor?" asks Thaksin Shinawatra, the author.
But Mr. Thaksin, a Thai prime minister ousted by a coup in 2006, is no ordinary consultant – and he knows it. The politician's electoral successes antagonized Bangkok's royalist elite. Now, exiled in Dubai and wanted at home on a corruption-related conviction, Thaksin remains a political player who courts controversy.
His recent appointment as an adviser here has injected a new and potentially destabilizing element spilling beyond his home country. A five-day visit earlier this month to Cambodia, which shares a border and centuries of rivalry with Thailand, provoked a nationalist uproar in Bangkok. Both countries withdrew their ambassadors. Thailand tore up a maritime treaty and threatened to seal the border, where rival armies already face off over a disputed Hindu temple. Cambodia later expelled a diplomat for spying.
So far, the diplomatic tensions haven't spilled over to the temple site. The area is one of several poorly demarcated borders that Thailand shares with its neighbors and where sovereignty claims have flared into armed clashes, though rarely for long.
In Cambodia the border also evokes memories of Thailand's arming of the murderous Khmer Rouge during a civil war that Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen fought mostly on the opposite side. He has argued that Thailand has no right to demand Thaksin's extradition because it used to shelter senior Khmer Rouge leaders.
Thailand and Cambodia belong to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). But the Thai government has resisted mediation by the 10-nation bloc.
That leaves the two neighbors at loggerheads over Thaksin. A court in Bangkok is expected to rule next month on the confiscation of more than $2 billion of his frozen money. The case is separate from his 2008 conviction and two-year jail term. But Prime Minsiter Hun Sen has offered Thaksin sanctuary and rejected Thailand's request for extradition.
Feted in Cambodia
Arriving by private jet, Thaksin was given a lavish reception at Hun Sen's heavily guarded compound outside the Cambodian capital. On Nov. 12, he gave a talk to 300 civil servants on economic policy that was broadcast on state television.
Some analysts say the sight of Hun Sen embracing Thaksin as an "eternal friend" plays into the hands of critics who label him a traitorous opportunist. Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has tried to capitalize on this nationalist anger by talking tough against Cambodia.
"One of the only ways to unite this incredibly divided country is to give them a common enemy," says a Bangkok-based diplomat.
But the row is unlikely to sway Thaksin's large base of supporters, who see him as a political victim. By popping up in Cambodia, which borders Thailand's pro-Thaksin northeast, he has given them fresh hope that he will return.
In an interview, Thaksin says his critics have a "Cold war mindset" toward Cambodia, a smaller neighbor, and argues that economic success there will eventually benefit Thailand. He claims not to be worried by the Thai government's efforts to bring him home.
"It's clear it's [the conviction] politically motivated. The more you try to extradite me, the more you will make the justice system look ugly," he says.
From Dubai, Thaksin travels regularly as a private businessman to Africa and the Pacific. After Mr. Abhisit revoked his Thai passport, he switched to Nicaraguan and Montenegro ones.
But visiting Cambodia with the backing of its leader is far more provocative, given the proximity and tensions between the countries. It also flies in the face of ASEAN's long-held principle that members don't interfere in one another's domestic politics.
Thaksin says that he also made an unannounced visit to Thailand's southern neighbor Malaysia earlier this year, though he didn't meet the prime minister. Thai media has reported previous trips to Cambodia, which Thaksin denies making.
At times, though, his bravado seems tempered by concerns of a backlash among Thais. Asked if Cambodia would become a new base of operations, he shook his head.
"If I were to come back, I would come back quietly and not so often. I don't want the Thai government to be so nervous," he says.
Why Cambodia wants him
To Hun Sen, this nervousness may spell opportunity, says Nidhi Eoseewong, a retired Thai historian. While Thaksin wants to stay in the limelight, Hun Sen is turning Thailand's deep political divisions to his advantage.
Hun Sen "wants to prolong the weakness in Thailand. He's very smart," Mr. Nidhi says.
However, a Cambodian observer, who requested anonymity, says that Hun Sen is driven primarily by frustration over Thai obstruction of Cambodia's plans for the border temple, Preah Vihear. He may have concluded that no favorable resolution is possible with Mr. Abhisit's government, unless international mediators are involved.
For his part, Thaksin describes his alliance with Cambodia's strongman in plainer terms. "I'm unemployed. He's my friend," he says.
By Simon Montlake | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
from the November 23, 2009 edition
Phnom Penh, Cambodia - At a luxury guesthouse, Cambodia's newest government adviser picks up a copy of his latest book, "Tackling Poverty." It explores how lessons from Thailand can be applied to other developing countries.
"I help tackle poverty worldwide, wherever they need me. Why not my neighbor?" asks Thaksin Shinawatra, the author.
But Mr. Thaksin, a Thai prime minister ousted by a coup in 2006, is no ordinary consultant – and he knows it. The politician's electoral successes antagonized Bangkok's royalist elite. Now, exiled in Dubai and wanted at home on a corruption-related conviction, Thaksin remains a political player who courts controversy.
His recent appointment as an adviser here has injected a new and potentially destabilizing element spilling beyond his home country. A five-day visit earlier this month to Cambodia, which shares a border and centuries of rivalry with Thailand, provoked a nationalist uproar in Bangkok. Both countries withdrew their ambassadors. Thailand tore up a maritime treaty and threatened to seal the border, where rival armies already face off over a disputed Hindu temple. Cambodia later expelled a diplomat for spying.
So far, the diplomatic tensions haven't spilled over to the temple site. The area is one of several poorly demarcated borders that Thailand shares with its neighbors and where sovereignty claims have flared into armed clashes, though rarely for long.
In Cambodia the border also evokes memories of Thailand's arming of the murderous Khmer Rouge during a civil war that Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen fought mostly on the opposite side. He has argued that Thailand has no right to demand Thaksin's extradition because it used to shelter senior Khmer Rouge leaders.
Thailand and Cambodia belong to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). But the Thai government has resisted mediation by the 10-nation bloc.
That leaves the two neighbors at loggerheads over Thaksin. A court in Bangkok is expected to rule next month on the confiscation of more than $2 billion of his frozen money. The case is separate from his 2008 conviction and two-year jail term. But Prime Minsiter Hun Sen has offered Thaksin sanctuary and rejected Thailand's request for extradition.
Feted in Cambodia
Arriving by private jet, Thaksin was given a lavish reception at Hun Sen's heavily guarded compound outside the Cambodian capital. On Nov. 12, he gave a talk to 300 civil servants on economic policy that was broadcast on state television.
Some analysts say the sight of Hun Sen embracing Thaksin as an "eternal friend" plays into the hands of critics who label him a traitorous opportunist. Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has tried to capitalize on this nationalist anger by talking tough against Cambodia.
"One of the only ways to unite this incredibly divided country is to give them a common enemy," says a Bangkok-based diplomat.
But the row is unlikely to sway Thaksin's large base of supporters, who see him as a political victim. By popping up in Cambodia, which borders Thailand's pro-Thaksin northeast, he has given them fresh hope that he will return.
In an interview, Thaksin says his critics have a "Cold war mindset" toward Cambodia, a smaller neighbor, and argues that economic success there will eventually benefit Thailand. He claims not to be worried by the Thai government's efforts to bring him home.
"It's clear it's [the conviction] politically motivated. The more you try to extradite me, the more you will make the justice system look ugly," he says.
From Dubai, Thaksin travels regularly as a private businessman to Africa and the Pacific. After Mr. Abhisit revoked his Thai passport, he switched to Nicaraguan and Montenegro ones.
But visiting Cambodia with the backing of its leader is far more provocative, given the proximity and tensions between the countries. It also flies in the face of ASEAN's long-held principle that members don't interfere in one another's domestic politics.
Thaksin says that he also made an unannounced visit to Thailand's southern neighbor Malaysia earlier this year, though he didn't meet the prime minister. Thai media has reported previous trips to Cambodia, which Thaksin denies making.
At times, though, his bravado seems tempered by concerns of a backlash among Thais. Asked if Cambodia would become a new base of operations, he shook his head.
"If I were to come back, I would come back quietly and not so often. I don't want the Thai government to be so nervous," he says.
Why Cambodia wants him
To Hun Sen, this nervousness may spell opportunity, says Nidhi Eoseewong, a retired Thai historian. While Thaksin wants to stay in the limelight, Hun Sen is turning Thailand's deep political divisions to his advantage.
Hun Sen "wants to prolong the weakness in Thailand. He's very smart," Mr. Nidhi says.
However, a Cambodian observer, who requested anonymity, says that Hun Sen is driven primarily by frustration over Thai obstruction of Cambodia's plans for the border temple, Preah Vihear. He may have concluded that no favorable resolution is possible with Mr. Abhisit's government, unless international mediators are involved.
For his part, Thaksin describes his alliance with Cambodia's strongman in plainer terms. "I'm unemployed. He's my friend," he says.
Report calls for welfare system
The Phnom Penh Post
Tuesday, 24 November 2009 15:03 Jacob Gold
AS Cambodia’s major growth industries face a prolonged slowdown sparked by the global financial crisis, the government must develop a better social safety net to lessen the effects of increased joblessness and poverty on human development, according to a new UN report.
Titled “Global economic downturn: opportunity or crisis?”, the report examines the impact of the financial crisis on Cambodia and recommends mitigating policies – including the creation of a system that ensures a basic standard of living, improves income and food security, and provides vocational training.
Speaking at the launch of the report on Monday, Chan Sophal, president of the Cambodian Economic Association and the report’s research team leader, said: “Right now, we have many activities to assist the poor, but these are scattered over hundreds of NGOs and programmes from donor governments. They are not developing as an integrated social protection system.”
Douglas Broderick, UN resident coordinator, said Cambodia’s social spending was low for a developing country. “On average, safety net expenditure in developing countries is in the range of 1 to 2 percent of GDP, but Cambodia’s estimated expenditure is currently lower than 1 percent,” he said.
Thun Sophorn, national coordinator at the International Labour Organisation, said part of the difficulty in extending social protection to more Cambodians was the sheer size of the informal sector. “Out of an overall working population of 6 million, 85 percent are in the informal economy and usually fall outside of legal protection,” he said. “These people are self-employed, and it is hard to provide them with social services.”
Thun Sophorn described a number of viable social protection plans with which the ILO had been recently involved, including a community health-
insurance scheme developed with GRED, a French NGO, that gave villagers access to provincial hospitals for only US$2 or $3 a year.
He estimated, however, that including relatively well-protected civil servants, private-insurance buyers and participants in special programmes for the poor, the total number of Cambodians with some level of social protection was about 10 percent of the population.
The cost of inaction
According to the UN report, in the absence of this support, “the coping strategies being adopted by families are cause for concern. The squeezing out of health and education expenditures can have long-lasting consequences on child growth and human potential”.
The report says that “the most common strategies tend to be food related”, including eating less and lower quality food. Other harmful consequences detailed in the report were “selling productive assets, pulling children out of school, taking on debt and being more vulnerable to trafficking”.
Reluctance to spend money on adequate medical care is itself a major health risk for the poor and socially unprotected. The evolution of drug-resistant malaria on the Thai-Cambodia border is believed to have been caused in part by the prevalence of cheap counterfeit and substandard treatments.
“As far as the cost of social safety nets, we’re not talking about a lot of money here,” Broderick said, adding that some protections “are based on policy, with no cost demand”.
Of the 12 active social protection projects inventoried in the report – including scholarships, school meal programmes, social security and job training – each reaches tens of thousands of beneficiaries, and nine of them cost less than $10 million per year.
By comparison, the international community pledged more than $950 million in official development assistance to Cambodia for 2009.
At a forum in June, the government agreed to incorporate social protection into the National Strategic Development Plan update for 2009-13. The strategy is due to be completed by the end of this year.
Tuesday, 24 November 2009 15:03 Jacob Gold
AS Cambodia’s major growth industries face a prolonged slowdown sparked by the global financial crisis, the government must develop a better social safety net to lessen the effects of increased joblessness and poverty on human development, according to a new UN report.
Titled “Global economic downturn: opportunity or crisis?”, the report examines the impact of the financial crisis on Cambodia and recommends mitigating policies – including the creation of a system that ensures a basic standard of living, improves income and food security, and provides vocational training.
Speaking at the launch of the report on Monday, Chan Sophal, president of the Cambodian Economic Association and the report’s research team leader, said: “Right now, we have many activities to assist the poor, but these are scattered over hundreds of NGOs and programmes from donor governments. They are not developing as an integrated social protection system.”
Douglas Broderick, UN resident coordinator, said Cambodia’s social spending was low for a developing country. “On average, safety net expenditure in developing countries is in the range of 1 to 2 percent of GDP, but Cambodia’s estimated expenditure is currently lower than 1 percent,” he said.
Thun Sophorn, national coordinator at the International Labour Organisation, said part of the difficulty in extending social protection to more Cambodians was the sheer size of the informal sector. “Out of an overall working population of 6 million, 85 percent are in the informal economy and usually fall outside of legal protection,” he said. “These people are self-employed, and it is hard to provide them with social services.”
Thun Sophorn described a number of viable social protection plans with which the ILO had been recently involved, including a community health-
insurance scheme developed with GRED, a French NGO, that gave villagers access to provincial hospitals for only US$2 or $3 a year.
He estimated, however, that including relatively well-protected civil servants, private-insurance buyers and participants in special programmes for the poor, the total number of Cambodians with some level of social protection was about 10 percent of the population.
The cost of inaction
According to the UN report, in the absence of this support, “the coping strategies being adopted by families are cause for concern. The squeezing out of health and education expenditures can have long-lasting consequences on child growth and human potential”.
The report says that “the most common strategies tend to be food related”, including eating less and lower quality food. Other harmful consequences detailed in the report were “selling productive assets, pulling children out of school, taking on debt and being more vulnerable to trafficking”.
Reluctance to spend money on adequate medical care is itself a major health risk for the poor and socially unprotected. The evolution of drug-resistant malaria on the Thai-Cambodia border is believed to have been caused in part by the prevalence of cheap counterfeit and substandard treatments.
“As far as the cost of social safety nets, we’re not talking about a lot of money here,” Broderick said, adding that some protections “are based on policy, with no cost demand”.
Of the 12 active social protection projects inventoried in the report – including scholarships, school meal programmes, social security and job training – each reaches tens of thousands of beneficiaries, and nine of them cost less than $10 million per year.
By comparison, the international community pledged more than $950 million in official development assistance to Cambodia for 2009.
At a forum in June, the government agreed to incorporate social protection into the National Strategic Development Plan update for 2009-13. The strategy is due to be completed by the end of this year.
No Love Lost
Source: My Sinchew.com
Features 2009-11-23 15:41
Former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra risks a backlash at home by reaching an alliance of sorts with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Given the historical baggage of Thai-Cambodia relations, the move is a gamble which could fuel mistrust between the neighbours.
At the root of the Thai-Cambodian feud is what Thai historian Charnvit Kasetsiri calls “stone temple nationalisms” and competing versions of history.
The current Thai-Cambodia squabble shows just how far Asean has to go to bury old hatchets as it works towards the creation of a regional community inspired by the European Union in a few years.
On November 8, on his return to Cambodia from the inaugural Mekong-Japan leaders’ summit in Tokyo, Hun Sen, in one of the long, fiery speeches he is known for, recalled how Thailand once gave shelter to two leaders of the infamous Khmer Rouge, Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan.
The Khmer Rouge, which ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, left up to two million people dead.
“Thailand did more than violate international law. It had signed a peace pact. If Thailand does not respect international law, how can you expect us to respect Thai law?” he said.
Asked about this in an informal chat, Thai officials were quick to say the episode was in the past.
In 1969, elected Burmese leader U Nu, who had been thrown out in a military coup by General Ne Win, set up a ‘government in exile’ in Bangkok which was active till 1973. Burma is now known as Myanmar.
In a recent talk at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand, professor Charnvit noted that Thais are brought up on textbooks that outline how their country—once known as Siam—has repeatedly “lost” territory to neighbours.
When Thailand contested the ownership of the Preah Vihear temple, ordinary Thais donated money to help pay legal fees. The temple is on the Thai-Cambodian border.
On the Cambodian side, any suggestion that Thailand has any claim to Khmer heritage touches a raw nerve.
The ancient Khmer culture preceded that of Siam. But in modern times, Thailand is by far the greater power in mainland Southeast Asia, its economy dwarfing those of its neighbours—and the Thai elite tend to look down on Cambodians.
When The Hague ruled in favour of Cambodia on Preah Vihear in 1962, Thais mourned and Khmers rejoiced.
A remark—later proven to be a misquote—by a Thai actress in 2003 insinuating that Angkor Wat really belonged to Thailand sparked mob attacks on the Thai embassy and Thai businesses in Phnom Penh. Cars were torched at the Thai embassy and diplomats had to run for their lives, climbing over a back wall to escape.
Thailand’s ‘official nationalism’ today is a hybrid of ‘royal nationalisms’—a term coined by Thai historian Thongchai Winichakul, who teaches at the University of Wisconsin - and professor Charnvit’s ‘military-bureaucratic nationalism’.
Thaksin is pitting his own popularity against the nationalist feelings of many Thais by taking up Hun Sen’s offer to become his economic adviser.
Things cooled somewhat after Thaksin left Cambodia on November 14 but the latest episode has galvanised efforts to bring him home to face trial.
Thailand said on November 16 it had passed information to the United Arab Emirates proving that the fugitive billionaire is living in Dubai. (By Nirmal Ghosh in Bangkok/ The Straits Times/ Asia News Network)
Features 2009-11-23 15:41
Former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra risks a backlash at home by reaching an alliance of sorts with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Given the historical baggage of Thai-Cambodia relations, the move is a gamble which could fuel mistrust between the neighbours.
At the root of the Thai-Cambodian feud is what Thai historian Charnvit Kasetsiri calls “stone temple nationalisms” and competing versions of history.
The current Thai-Cambodia squabble shows just how far Asean has to go to bury old hatchets as it works towards the creation of a regional community inspired by the European Union in a few years.
On November 8, on his return to Cambodia from the inaugural Mekong-Japan leaders’ summit in Tokyo, Hun Sen, in one of the long, fiery speeches he is known for, recalled how Thailand once gave shelter to two leaders of the infamous Khmer Rouge, Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan.
The Khmer Rouge, which ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, left up to two million people dead.
“Thailand did more than violate international law. It had signed a peace pact. If Thailand does not respect international law, how can you expect us to respect Thai law?” he said.
Asked about this in an informal chat, Thai officials were quick to say the episode was in the past.
In 1969, elected Burmese leader U Nu, who had been thrown out in a military coup by General Ne Win, set up a ‘government in exile’ in Bangkok which was active till 1973. Burma is now known as Myanmar.
In a recent talk at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand, professor Charnvit noted that Thais are brought up on textbooks that outline how their country—once known as Siam—has repeatedly “lost” territory to neighbours.
When Thailand contested the ownership of the Preah Vihear temple, ordinary Thais donated money to help pay legal fees. The temple is on the Thai-Cambodian border.
On the Cambodian side, any suggestion that Thailand has any claim to Khmer heritage touches a raw nerve.
The ancient Khmer culture preceded that of Siam. But in modern times, Thailand is by far the greater power in mainland Southeast Asia, its economy dwarfing those of its neighbours—and the Thai elite tend to look down on Cambodians.
When The Hague ruled in favour of Cambodia on Preah Vihear in 1962, Thais mourned and Khmers rejoiced.
A remark—later proven to be a misquote—by a Thai actress in 2003 insinuating that Angkor Wat really belonged to Thailand sparked mob attacks on the Thai embassy and Thai businesses in Phnom Penh. Cars were torched at the Thai embassy and diplomats had to run for their lives, climbing over a back wall to escape.
Thailand’s ‘official nationalism’ today is a hybrid of ‘royal nationalisms’—a term coined by Thai historian Thongchai Winichakul, who teaches at the University of Wisconsin - and professor Charnvit’s ‘military-bureaucratic nationalism’.
Thaksin is pitting his own popularity against the nationalist feelings of many Thais by taking up Hun Sen’s offer to become his economic adviser.
Things cooled somewhat after Thaksin left Cambodia on November 14 but the latest episode has galvanised efforts to bring him home to face trial.
Thailand said on November 16 it had passed information to the United Arab Emirates proving that the fugitive billionaire is living in Dubai. (By Nirmal Ghosh in Bangkok/ The Straits Times/ Asia News Network)
Former PM Samak dies of cancer
Bangkok Post
Published: 24/11/2009 at 09:52 AM
Online news: Breakingnews
Former prime minister Samak Sundaravej died of liver cancer on Tuesday morning at Bamrungraj hospital, Sumitr Sundaravej, his younger brother said.
Mr Samak, 74, was the country’s 25th prime minister. As the leader of the disbanded People Power Party, he took up the positions of the prime minister and defence minister from Jan 29, 2008 to Sept 9, 2008.
Mr Samak was disqualified from the prime ministership when the court found he breached the constitution by being an employee of a private firm while in office. Mr Samak was the popular host of a popular TV cooking programme.
Mr Samak was a former governor of Bangkok and founder of the Prachakorn Thai Party.
He also held the offices of minister of the interior, minister of transport and deputy agriculture and cooperatives minister.
Published: 24/11/2009 at 09:52 AM
Online news: Breakingnews
Former prime minister Samak Sundaravej died of liver cancer on Tuesday morning at Bamrungraj hospital, Sumitr Sundaravej, his younger brother said.
Mr Samak, 74, was the country’s 25th prime minister. As the leader of the disbanded People Power Party, he took up the positions of the prime minister and defence minister from Jan 29, 2008 to Sept 9, 2008.
Mr Samak was disqualified from the prime ministership when the court found he breached the constitution by being an employee of a private firm while in office. Mr Samak was the popular host of a popular TV cooking programme.
Mr Samak was a former governor of Bangkok and founder of the Prachakorn Thai Party.
He also held the offices of minister of the interior, minister of transport and deputy agriculture and cooperatives minister.
Thailand-Cambodia squabble embarrasses ASEAN
Source: UPA Asia.com
By Mong Palatino
Column: PeripheriesPublished: November 23, 2009
Manila, Philippines — Myanmar’s ruling junta may be the ultimate bad boy in Southeast Asia, but the stubborn attitude of the junta is not always the primordial cause of friction in the region. If achieving unity within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is almost impossible, Myanmar should not get all the blame. Also worthy of disgust and concern is the petty but detrimental infighting among ASEAN members.
For example, there are still unsettled border disputes between Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia. Indonesia is accusing Malaysia of stealing its cultural heritage. Thailand and Cambodia are feuding over the ownership of the historic Preah Vihear temple and the four square kilometers of territory around it.
The recent U.S.-ASEAN Summit was an opportunity for regional leaders to resolve these conflicts. Fortunately for Malaysia and Indonesia, their leaders decided to be friendly during the event. Steps were taken to improve political and economic ties between the two countries.
But the diplomatic row between Thailand and Cambodia has worsened in the past few weeks. Thailand and Cambodia recalled their ambassadors from each other’s capital. An energy exploration deal between the two nations was suspended. The issues are obviously no longer confined to a border dispute. What or who fueled the higher level of animosity between the two neighbors?
The decision of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to appoint Thailand’s controversial former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra as his special economic adviser did not amuse Thai authorities. Thailand interpreted this move as an intrusion into its internal affairs. The quarrel intensified when Thaksin arrived and stayed in Phnom Penh for five days to give a lecture on the global economic crisis.
Thai officials immediately petitioned for the extradition of Thaksin, who is facing a two-year jail term for corruption. Cambodia refused the request, arguing that Thaksin is a political, not criminal, convict. Also, Hun Sen considers Thaksin his “eternal friend.”
Thaksin was ousted in a 2006 coup. To escape serving a prison term for corruption, he has been living in many countries around the world. The billionaire politician believes he could not get a fair trial in Thailand. He is accusing the present government of being illegitimate and repressive.
Angered by Cambodia’s refusal to extradite Thaksin, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has threatened to close the Thailand-Cambodia borders, which could disrupt and hurt the economic activities in the region. Thai authorities are also preparing to evacuate their citizens in Cambodia in case a war erupts between the two nations.
It is difficult to ascertain Hun Sen’s real motive in appointing Thaksin as his adviser. He knew it would provoke a negative reaction in Thailand. He knew it would further strain relations between two countries. His action definitely reflected his deep anger against the Bangkok government, which ordered a buildup of Thai troops in the Preah Vihear territory last year.
Thaksin, a master at using the media for maximum political effect, agreed to accept Cambodia’s offer during the same week that the ASEAN Summit was held in Thailand. Thaksin always manages to steal the headlines every time Thailand hosts an international event.
But his decision to become Hun Sen’s adviser could ruin his plan of staging a grand political comeback. Thaksin’s political rivals and some media analysts are accusing the former leader of being a traitor to Thailand for accepting a post in a rival nation.
It is understandable for Abhisit to hate both Thaksin and Hun Sen. The two “eternal friends” are obviously working together to undermine Abhisit’s administration. But the Oxford-educated leader should not lose his cool.
Abhisit should be more diplomatic while not losing his assertiveness. He should study the results of a Bangkok University poll conducted last week, which showed that the majority of respondents preferred a soft approach when negotiating with Cambodia. The same poll also showed that an overwhelming majority is opposed to the closing of the Thailand-Cambodia border.
Closing the border today would not only hurt the economies of the two countries, it would also jeopardize the process of normalizing the relationship of the two neighboring nations.
Hun Sen, Thaksin and Abhisit will all manage to survive the current political tensions between Cambodia and Thailand. They can even benefit from the turmoil if they calculate their moves.
Those who stand to lose in this political drama are the citizens of both countries. Instead of celebrating the common history which Cambodia and Thailand share together, their leaders are finding fault with one another. Instead of striving to build a strong unified economy in the region, they are threatening to destroy the livelihood and economic prospects of their neighbors.
Prolonging the diplomatic impasse between Cambodia and Thailand is not good for ASEAN. It is a global embarrassment since it exposes the inability of ASEAN to foster unity and camaraderie among its members. ASEAN leadership is needed to close the gap between Thailand and Cambodia.
--
(Mong Palatino is an activist and politician from the Philippines. He is a member of Parliament representing the youth sector. He is also Southeast Asia Editor of Global Voices Online. He blogs at www.mongpalatino.com. ©Copyright Mong Palatino.)
By Mong Palatino
Column: PeripheriesPublished: November 23, 2009
Manila, Philippines — Myanmar’s ruling junta may be the ultimate bad boy in Southeast Asia, but the stubborn attitude of the junta is not always the primordial cause of friction in the region. If achieving unity within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is almost impossible, Myanmar should not get all the blame. Also worthy of disgust and concern is the petty but detrimental infighting among ASEAN members.
For example, there are still unsettled border disputes between Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia. Indonesia is accusing Malaysia of stealing its cultural heritage. Thailand and Cambodia are feuding over the ownership of the historic Preah Vihear temple and the four square kilometers of territory around it.
The recent U.S.-ASEAN Summit was an opportunity for regional leaders to resolve these conflicts. Fortunately for Malaysia and Indonesia, their leaders decided to be friendly during the event. Steps were taken to improve political and economic ties between the two countries.
But the diplomatic row between Thailand and Cambodia has worsened in the past few weeks. Thailand and Cambodia recalled their ambassadors from each other’s capital. An energy exploration deal between the two nations was suspended. The issues are obviously no longer confined to a border dispute. What or who fueled the higher level of animosity between the two neighbors?
The decision of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to appoint Thailand’s controversial former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra as his special economic adviser did not amuse Thai authorities. Thailand interpreted this move as an intrusion into its internal affairs. The quarrel intensified when Thaksin arrived and stayed in Phnom Penh for five days to give a lecture on the global economic crisis.
Thai officials immediately petitioned for the extradition of Thaksin, who is facing a two-year jail term for corruption. Cambodia refused the request, arguing that Thaksin is a political, not criminal, convict. Also, Hun Sen considers Thaksin his “eternal friend.”
Thaksin was ousted in a 2006 coup. To escape serving a prison term for corruption, he has been living in many countries around the world. The billionaire politician believes he could not get a fair trial in Thailand. He is accusing the present government of being illegitimate and repressive.
Angered by Cambodia’s refusal to extradite Thaksin, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has threatened to close the Thailand-Cambodia borders, which could disrupt and hurt the economic activities in the region. Thai authorities are also preparing to evacuate their citizens in Cambodia in case a war erupts between the two nations.
It is difficult to ascertain Hun Sen’s real motive in appointing Thaksin as his adviser. He knew it would provoke a negative reaction in Thailand. He knew it would further strain relations between two countries. His action definitely reflected his deep anger against the Bangkok government, which ordered a buildup of Thai troops in the Preah Vihear territory last year.
Thaksin, a master at using the media for maximum political effect, agreed to accept Cambodia’s offer during the same week that the ASEAN Summit was held in Thailand. Thaksin always manages to steal the headlines every time Thailand hosts an international event.
But his decision to become Hun Sen’s adviser could ruin his plan of staging a grand political comeback. Thaksin’s political rivals and some media analysts are accusing the former leader of being a traitor to Thailand for accepting a post in a rival nation.
It is understandable for Abhisit to hate both Thaksin and Hun Sen. The two “eternal friends” are obviously working together to undermine Abhisit’s administration. But the Oxford-educated leader should not lose his cool.
Abhisit should be more diplomatic while not losing his assertiveness. He should study the results of a Bangkok University poll conducted last week, which showed that the majority of respondents preferred a soft approach when negotiating with Cambodia. The same poll also showed that an overwhelming majority is opposed to the closing of the Thailand-Cambodia border.
Closing the border today would not only hurt the economies of the two countries, it would also jeopardize the process of normalizing the relationship of the two neighboring nations.
Hun Sen, Thaksin and Abhisit will all manage to survive the current political tensions between Cambodia and Thailand. They can even benefit from the turmoil if they calculate their moves.
Those who stand to lose in this political drama are the citizens of both countries. Instead of celebrating the common history which Cambodia and Thailand share together, their leaders are finding fault with one another. Instead of striving to build a strong unified economy in the region, they are threatening to destroy the livelihood and economic prospects of their neighbors.
Prolonging the diplomatic impasse between Cambodia and Thailand is not good for ASEAN. It is a global embarrassment since it exposes the inability of ASEAN to foster unity and camaraderie among its members. ASEAN leadership is needed to close the gap between Thailand and Cambodia.
--
(Mong Palatino is an activist and politician from the Philippines. He is a member of Parliament representing the youth sector. He is also Southeast Asia Editor of Global Voices Online. He blogs at www.mongpalatino.com. ©Copyright Mong Palatino.)
Thai-Cambodia Tension Gives Rise to Schools with Bunkers
By Marwaan Macan-Markar
BAAN POM-SA-RON, Thailand, Nov 24 (IPS) - Children at the largest school in this village close to the Thai-Cambodian border have a new regimen to follow besides books and sports. They have drills, practising evacuation, in case their school comes under an artillery attack.
The destination of such flight is visible across Pom-Sa-Ron Widhaya. Spread around the corners of the school’s playing field and behind the only building where 600 students study are 14 bunkers. Each is built with cement, fortified with sandbags and earth and can hold 30 students comfortably.
The bunkers at the school are among the clearest signs of unease that has swept across this area as relations between Thailand and its eastern neighbour Cambodia worsen. Thai authorities have built 340 bunkers in two schools and several villages in three sub-districts in Sri Saket, the province where Baan Pom-Sa-Ron sits. The bunkers, which have been built over the past three months, cost 40 million baht (1.2 million U.S. dollars)
"They were just finished last week," says Warunrat Chitruchiphong, the school’s English teacher, of the bunkers. "It is a way to protect the students in case there is a conflict."
"Evacuation drills have begun. We want to train the students how to take shelter," she adds. "We have had few practises, first by getting the students to leave classes and assemble outside."
This shift in the rhythm of a school day has begun to shape conversation in the classrooms. "Students talk about what they have to do if there is an attack," says Supawadee Chaladyam, a 17-year-old who dreams of a career in nursing. "I have gone to the bunkers with my classmates when we have free time."
Parents welcome the protective net spread across this area by the government. "This area has seen tension before because of border problems. People had to move out of their villages," says Wichet Buakew, who has a son and a daughter at the school. "It is good that the government has built these bunkers for the children."
Bangkok’s reaction stems from the proximity of this village to a 10th century Hindu temple that has fired nationalistic passions in both Thailand and Cambodia. The Preah Vihear temple, which sits on the edge of a steep cliff, is 10 kilometres away from the school.
Anger and fits of patriotic chest-thumping among Thais have followed a decision in July last year by the World Heritage Committee to recognise Preah Vihear as a world heritage site. The committee also recognised a 1962 ruling by the International Court of Justice that the temple was within Cambodian territory.
The tension saw a spike in troop strength along this border area where the Thai and Cambodian military have faced each other down before. In April this year soldiers from both countries exchanged gunfire, leaving three people dead.
A planned sports event over the weekend between the two forces guarding the border aimed to calm tensions was postponed. "The postponement was initiated by Cambodian authorities, without stating any reasons," reported ‘The Nation’, an English language daily in Thailand, quoting Prawat Ratthairom, a deputy provincial governor of Si Sa Ket.
Relations between the two South-east Asian kingdoms have plummeted further following the Cambodian government’s ties with former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a nemesis of the current Thai administration under Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. Thaksin, whose popularly elected government was ousted in a 2006 coup and who lives in exile to avoid a two-year jail term for a conflict-of-interest case, was recently appointed as an economic adviser to Phnom Penh.
Thailand’s decision to increase vigilance along the border it shares with Cambodia has come at a price to local communities on the Cambodian side. Sri Saket’s central jail currently holds 40 Cambodians, who were arrested by soldiers in the forests surrounding the Preah Vihear temple.
"They came across the border and violated the forest law," said Justice Minister Pirapan Salirathavibhaga to a group of foreign journalists who had accompanied him to this border region. "We have to keep them here."
The arrested Cambodians were alleged to have been foraging through the forests for bamboo and mushrooms and "cutting trees." Such search for food is common among both Thais and Cambodians living along the border.
Some Thais, such as Prayut Wongkamjan, have suffered worse while looking for food in the forests close to the temple. The 37-year-old stepped on a landmine, one of the many buried along the border during the decades that Cambodia was torn apart by conflict.
For now, war between the two countries is not what Thailand wants. "At this moment, there is a lot of news that might frighten the people," says Pirapan. "But we want to assure the people of their security. We don’t need any fighting."
It is a view echoed by the people and local officials in Sri Saket who have built strong ties with Cambodian communities across the border. "The locals here and those in Cambodia are like sisters and brothers," says Nirandon Lumthaisong, secretary to the local village council. "They speak the same language and have similar culture."
But such ties cannot be sustained following the Thai government’s decision to close some of the nearby border crossings, Niranond complains. "That will make no good for anyone. Nowadays the government has already stopped us from visiting each other."
BAAN POM-SA-RON, Thailand, Nov 24 (IPS) - Children at the largest school in this village close to the Thai-Cambodian border have a new regimen to follow besides books and sports. They have drills, practising evacuation, in case their school comes under an artillery attack.
The destination of such flight is visible across Pom-Sa-Ron Widhaya. Spread around the corners of the school’s playing field and behind the only building where 600 students study are 14 bunkers. Each is built with cement, fortified with sandbags and earth and can hold 30 students comfortably.
The bunkers at the school are among the clearest signs of unease that has swept across this area as relations between Thailand and its eastern neighbour Cambodia worsen. Thai authorities have built 340 bunkers in two schools and several villages in three sub-districts in Sri Saket, the province where Baan Pom-Sa-Ron sits. The bunkers, which have been built over the past three months, cost 40 million baht (1.2 million U.S. dollars)
"They were just finished last week," says Warunrat Chitruchiphong, the school’s English teacher, of the bunkers. "It is a way to protect the students in case there is a conflict."
"Evacuation drills have begun. We want to train the students how to take shelter," she adds. "We have had few practises, first by getting the students to leave classes and assemble outside."
This shift in the rhythm of a school day has begun to shape conversation in the classrooms. "Students talk about what they have to do if there is an attack," says Supawadee Chaladyam, a 17-year-old who dreams of a career in nursing. "I have gone to the bunkers with my classmates when we have free time."
Parents welcome the protective net spread across this area by the government. "This area has seen tension before because of border problems. People had to move out of their villages," says Wichet Buakew, who has a son and a daughter at the school. "It is good that the government has built these bunkers for the children."
Bangkok’s reaction stems from the proximity of this village to a 10th century Hindu temple that has fired nationalistic passions in both Thailand and Cambodia. The Preah Vihear temple, which sits on the edge of a steep cliff, is 10 kilometres away from the school.
Anger and fits of patriotic chest-thumping among Thais have followed a decision in July last year by the World Heritage Committee to recognise Preah Vihear as a world heritage site. The committee also recognised a 1962 ruling by the International Court of Justice that the temple was within Cambodian territory.
The tension saw a spike in troop strength along this border area where the Thai and Cambodian military have faced each other down before. In April this year soldiers from both countries exchanged gunfire, leaving three people dead.
A planned sports event over the weekend between the two forces guarding the border aimed to calm tensions was postponed. "The postponement was initiated by Cambodian authorities, without stating any reasons," reported ‘The Nation’, an English language daily in Thailand, quoting Prawat Ratthairom, a deputy provincial governor of Si Sa Ket.
Relations between the two South-east Asian kingdoms have plummeted further following the Cambodian government’s ties with former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a nemesis of the current Thai administration under Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. Thaksin, whose popularly elected government was ousted in a 2006 coup and who lives in exile to avoid a two-year jail term for a conflict-of-interest case, was recently appointed as an economic adviser to Phnom Penh.
Thailand’s decision to increase vigilance along the border it shares with Cambodia has come at a price to local communities on the Cambodian side. Sri Saket’s central jail currently holds 40 Cambodians, who were arrested by soldiers in the forests surrounding the Preah Vihear temple.
"They came across the border and violated the forest law," said Justice Minister Pirapan Salirathavibhaga to a group of foreign journalists who had accompanied him to this border region. "We have to keep them here."
The arrested Cambodians were alleged to have been foraging through the forests for bamboo and mushrooms and "cutting trees." Such search for food is common among both Thais and Cambodians living along the border.
Some Thais, such as Prayut Wongkamjan, have suffered worse while looking for food in the forests close to the temple. The 37-year-old stepped on a landmine, one of the many buried along the border during the decades that Cambodia was torn apart by conflict.
For now, war between the two countries is not what Thailand wants. "At this moment, there is a lot of news that might frighten the people," says Pirapan. "But we want to assure the people of their security. We don’t need any fighting."
It is a view echoed by the people and local officials in Sri Saket who have built strong ties with Cambodian communities across the border. "The locals here and those in Cambodia are like sisters and brothers," says Nirandon Lumthaisong, secretary to the local village council. "They speak the same language and have similar culture."
But such ties cannot be sustained following the Thai government’s decision to close some of the nearby border crossings, Niranond complains. "That will make no good for anyone. Nowadays the government has already stopped us from visiting each other."
23 November, 2009
IFC-ILO Better Work Conference Promotes Improved Labor Standards, Increased Competitiveness
Source: Web Newswire
Submitted by editor on November 23, 2009 - 04:00
IFC and ILO are hosting a conference, Harnessing Global Incentives for Development, to discuss lessons learned in the past decade from experiences of Better Factories Cambodia, an initiative under the joint IFC-ILO Better Work partnership program. Launched in 2006, Better Work seeks to improve labor standards and competitiveness in global supply chains.
The conference highlights successful elements that led to the growth of Cambodias textile sector, such as increasing dialogue at the factory level, implementing dispute settlement mechanisms, building mature industrial relations, and improving the investment climate.
Collaboration among government, local industry leaders, and international brands continues to be instrumental in achieving the success that Better Work Factories and Better Work have experienced in the last 10 years, said Greg Radford, IFC Director for Environment and Social Development. While millions of workers are benefiting from these commitments, companies are becoming more competitive in the global marketplace and more likely to weather the financial crisis.
Major apparel companies that support the Better Work program also are attending the conference, including American Eagle Outfitters, Gap Inc, Jones Apparel, Levi Strauss & Co, Martha Stewart Living, Nike, Polo Ralph Lauren, Walt Disney, and Wal-mart. The valued supporters will contribute a multistakeholder perspective.
Better Work is supported widely by international buyers and local suppliers. This has made a significant impact on the lives of workers and their families, the performance of enterprises, and the economic and social development of the countries involved, said Ros Harvey, Global Director for the Better Work program.
IFC is the only international financial institution focused exclusively on the private sector, the engine of sustainable development in emerging markets. Along with IBRD, it is currently seeking a capital increase to strengthen its ability to create opportunity for the poor in developing countries-including by helping improve labor standards to benefit millions of workers and businesses worldwide.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, creates opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We foster sustainable economic growth in developing countries by supporting private sector development, mobilizing private capital, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. Our new investments totaled $14.5 billion in fiscal 2009, helping channel capital into developing countries during the financial crisis. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.
For more information about ILO, visit www.ilo.org.
For more information about Better Work, visit www.betterwork.org.
Submitted by editor on November 23, 2009 - 04:00
IFC and ILO are hosting a conference, Harnessing Global Incentives for Development, to discuss lessons learned in the past decade from experiences of Better Factories Cambodia, an initiative under the joint IFC-ILO Better Work partnership program. Launched in 2006, Better Work seeks to improve labor standards and competitiveness in global supply chains.
The conference highlights successful elements that led to the growth of Cambodias textile sector, such as increasing dialogue at the factory level, implementing dispute settlement mechanisms, building mature industrial relations, and improving the investment climate.
Collaboration among government, local industry leaders, and international brands continues to be instrumental in achieving the success that Better Work Factories and Better Work have experienced in the last 10 years, said Greg Radford, IFC Director for Environment and Social Development. While millions of workers are benefiting from these commitments, companies are becoming more competitive in the global marketplace and more likely to weather the financial crisis.
Major apparel companies that support the Better Work program also are attending the conference, including American Eagle Outfitters, Gap Inc, Jones Apparel, Levi Strauss & Co, Martha Stewart Living, Nike, Polo Ralph Lauren, Walt Disney, and Wal-mart. The valued supporters will contribute a multistakeholder perspective.
Better Work is supported widely by international buyers and local suppliers. This has made a significant impact on the lives of workers and their families, the performance of enterprises, and the economic and social development of the countries involved, said Ros Harvey, Global Director for the Better Work program.
IFC is the only international financial institution focused exclusively on the private sector, the engine of sustainable development in emerging markets. Along with IBRD, it is currently seeking a capital increase to strengthen its ability to create opportunity for the poor in developing countries-including by helping improve labor standards to benefit millions of workers and businesses worldwide.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, creates opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We foster sustainable economic growth in developing countries by supporting private sector development, mobilizing private capital, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. Our new investments totaled $14.5 billion in fiscal 2009, helping channel capital into developing countries during the financial crisis. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.
For more information about ILO, visit www.ilo.org.
For more information about Better Work, visit www.betterwork.org.
Cambodia begins final arguments in KRouge jail chief trial
By Patrick Falby (AFP) – 23 Nove 09
PHNOM PENH — Cambodia's Khmer Rouge war crimes court on Monday began final arguments in its first trial, bringing the regime's prison chief closer to justice for the "Killing Fields" atrocities 30 years ago.
Kaing Guek Eav -- better known as Duch -- has apologised for his role in the horrors of the hardline communist regime, which killed up to two million people.
But civil lawyers representing victims argued Monday that Duch had failed to acknowledge the full extent of his guilt.
"Your honours must objectively, we say, review the evidence to determine whether or not what has been accepted by the accused amounts to full disclosure and the full truth," lawyer Karim Khan told judges.
"In large and important material particulars, even today, the accused has sought to evade or minimise his role and the awful reality that was S-21 (prison) and the regime that operated there and the fate and suffering that befell so many civil parties that we all represent."
The tribunal appointed civil party lawyers who represent the views of 93 of the regime's victims, seeking a harsh decision from the court.
The prosecution is scheduled to begin presenting its arguments Tuesday.
Duch is expected to apologise again this week as his defence bids to lessen his sentence.
Since his trial began in February, Duch, 67, has repeatedly asked for forgiveness for overseeing the murders of around 15,000 men, women and children at S-21 prison, a former high school also called Tuol Sleng.
He is charged with crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture and premeditated murder, and faces a maximum term of life in prison by the tribunal, which does not have the power to impose the death penalty.
A verdict is expected early next year.
Hundreds of Cambodians attended the specially built courtroom on the outskirts of Phnom Penh on Monday, watching Duch, who sat behind a huge bulletproof screen to prevent possible revenge attacks.
This week's proceedings will be broadcast live by all Cambodian television stations, court officials said.
Tuol Sleng prison was at the heart of the Khmer Rouge security apparatus and inmates were taken from there during Duch's tenure for execution at nearby Choeung Ek, an orchard now known as the "Killing Fields."
Led by "Brother Number One" Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge was responsible for one of the worst horrors of the 20th century, wiping out nearly a quarter of the population through starvation, overwork and execution.
Rising to power as a tragic spin-off from the US conflict in Vietnam, the movement emptied Cambodia's cities to take society back to a rural "Year Zero," purging city dwellers, intellectuals and even people who wore glasses.
The Khmer Rouge was ousted by Vietnamese-backed forces after a reign of terror lasting three years, eight months and 20 days, but continued to fight a civil war until 1998. Pol Pot died in the same year.
Duch has been detained since 1999, when he was found working as a Christian aid worker in the jungle, and was formally arrested by the tribunal in July 2007.
The court has faced controversy over allegations of interference by the government and claims that Cambodian staff paid kickbacks for their jobs.
The joint trial of four other more senior Khmer Rouge leaders is expected to start in 2011.
The court is also investigating whether to open more cases against five other former Khmer Rouge cadres after a dispute between the international and Cambodian co-prosecutors over whether to pursue more suspects.
PHNOM PENH — Cambodia's Khmer Rouge war crimes court on Monday began final arguments in its first trial, bringing the regime's prison chief closer to justice for the "Killing Fields" atrocities 30 years ago.
Kaing Guek Eav -- better known as Duch -- has apologised for his role in the horrors of the hardline communist regime, which killed up to two million people.
But civil lawyers representing victims argued Monday that Duch had failed to acknowledge the full extent of his guilt.
"Your honours must objectively, we say, review the evidence to determine whether or not what has been accepted by the accused amounts to full disclosure and the full truth," lawyer Karim Khan told judges.
"In large and important material particulars, even today, the accused has sought to evade or minimise his role and the awful reality that was S-21 (prison) and the regime that operated there and the fate and suffering that befell so many civil parties that we all represent."
The tribunal appointed civil party lawyers who represent the views of 93 of the regime's victims, seeking a harsh decision from the court.
The prosecution is scheduled to begin presenting its arguments Tuesday.
Duch is expected to apologise again this week as his defence bids to lessen his sentence.
Since his trial began in February, Duch, 67, has repeatedly asked for forgiveness for overseeing the murders of around 15,000 men, women and children at S-21 prison, a former high school also called Tuol Sleng.
He is charged with crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture and premeditated murder, and faces a maximum term of life in prison by the tribunal, which does not have the power to impose the death penalty.
A verdict is expected early next year.
Hundreds of Cambodians attended the specially built courtroom on the outskirts of Phnom Penh on Monday, watching Duch, who sat behind a huge bulletproof screen to prevent possible revenge attacks.
This week's proceedings will be broadcast live by all Cambodian television stations, court officials said.
Tuol Sleng prison was at the heart of the Khmer Rouge security apparatus and inmates were taken from there during Duch's tenure for execution at nearby Choeung Ek, an orchard now known as the "Killing Fields."
Led by "Brother Number One" Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge was responsible for one of the worst horrors of the 20th century, wiping out nearly a quarter of the population through starvation, overwork and execution.
Rising to power as a tragic spin-off from the US conflict in Vietnam, the movement emptied Cambodia's cities to take society back to a rural "Year Zero," purging city dwellers, intellectuals and even people who wore glasses.
The Khmer Rouge was ousted by Vietnamese-backed forces after a reign of terror lasting three years, eight months and 20 days, but continued to fight a civil war until 1998. Pol Pot died in the same year.
Duch has been detained since 1999, when he was found working as a Christian aid worker in the jungle, and was formally arrested by the tribunal in July 2007.
The court has faced controversy over allegations of interference by the government and claims that Cambodian staff paid kickbacks for their jobs.
The joint trial of four other more senior Khmer Rouge leaders is expected to start in 2011.
The court is also investigating whether to open more cases against five other former Khmer Rouge cadres after a dispute between the international and Cambodian co-prosecutors over whether to pursue more suspects.
21 November, 2009
WRAP social compliance seminar receives good response
Fibre2fashion
Original Source
November 21, 2009 (Vietnam)
More than 250 people from across the apparel, footwear and furniture sectors attended the WRAP Awareness Seminar in Ho Chi Minh City on November 17th indicating the continuing importance given to social and environmental accountability by Vietnamese manufacturers.
Mr. Pham Gia Hung, Director of External Affairs for the Vietnam Textile & Apparel Association (VITAS) and Mr. Dang Quoc Hung, Vice Chairman of the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of Ho Chi Minh City (HAWA) opened the half-day event. With a focus on raising awareness of social and environmental compliance in the industry, this seminar covered an overview of local labor laws and regulations, background and 12 principles of WRAP, the process of WRAP certification, and best practices of corporate social responsibility.
“The tremendous growth of the manufacturing sector in Vietnam has not come without its challenges, particularly in the areas of social and environmental management.” said Mr. Michael Lavergne, WRAP's Director for Asia, addressing the factory and association representatives. “We extend our congratulations to industry and labor organizations and to the Vietnamese people for your strong show of support when it comes to addressing and understanding these key issues.”
With dozens of facilities in Vietnam certified under WRAP’s robust program of certification in labor, environmental and customs security compliance over the past year, the hard work that numerous organizations have undertaken continues to be rewarded with concrete results. As with elsewhere in Asia, WRAP continues to engage all players in its mission to certify lawful, ethical and humane manufacturing.
Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production
Original Source
November 21, 2009 (Vietnam)
More than 250 people from across the apparel, footwear and furniture sectors attended the WRAP Awareness Seminar in Ho Chi Minh City on November 17th indicating the continuing importance given to social and environmental accountability by Vietnamese manufacturers.
Mr. Pham Gia Hung, Director of External Affairs for the Vietnam Textile & Apparel Association (VITAS) and Mr. Dang Quoc Hung, Vice Chairman of the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of Ho Chi Minh City (HAWA) opened the half-day event. With a focus on raising awareness of social and environmental compliance in the industry, this seminar covered an overview of local labor laws and regulations, background and 12 principles of WRAP, the process of WRAP certification, and best practices of corporate social responsibility.
“The tremendous growth of the manufacturing sector in Vietnam has not come without its challenges, particularly in the areas of social and environmental management.” said Mr. Michael Lavergne, WRAP's Director for Asia, addressing the factory and association representatives. “We extend our congratulations to industry and labor organizations and to the Vietnamese people for your strong show of support when it comes to addressing and understanding these key issues.”
With dozens of facilities in Vietnam certified under WRAP’s robust program of certification in labor, environmental and customs security compliance over the past year, the hard work that numerous organizations have undertaken continues to be rewarded with concrete results. As with elsewhere in Asia, WRAP continues to engage all players in its mission to certify lawful, ethical and humane manufacturing.
Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production
Temple tourism enjoys October recovery: govt
The Phnom Penh Post
Friday, 20 November 2009 15:02 May Kunmakara
Original Source
Latest figures show Siem Reap – home of Angkor Wat – and Preah Vihear saw higher tourism numbers despite tensions
TOURIST numbers to Cambodia’s two main temple destinations – Angkor Wat and Preah Vihear – grew last month, figures showed, a further sign that the sector was in recovery despite ongoing tensions with Thailand, officials said.
Total tourists to the Kingdom’s primary attraction Siem Reap climbed 0.7 percent in October year on year, Chheuy Chhorn, deputy director of Siem Reap’s Tourism Department, said Thursday, as a 2 percent drop in international arrivals to the province was offset by a 3 percent rise in domestic visitors. Overall numbers climbed to 174,814 visitors last month from 173,515 in October 2008.
“Tourists during this month were a good sign for the sector,” said Chheuy Chhorn, adding that since the start of this month – the start of the high season – numbers had again noticeably improved.
He said it remained unclear whether Siem Reap tourism would be able to match 2008, but given the figures for the first 10 months, it seemed unlikely – for the year up to the end of October numbers were down 36.88 percent following a dismal beginning to 2009.
Preah Vihear received 5,422 visitors last month, a huge increase on the 1,374 that made the trip to the temple site in October 2008, when a cross-border skirmish prompted a downturn in tourist numbers.
“Tourists increased during last month from the … year before due to a previous problem with Thailand that led to the closing of the border gate,” Kong Vibol, director of the Preah Vihear Province Tourism Department, said Thursday. “But tourism has hugely increased this year because we have a good road to the temple – we’re not relying on Thailand.”
Still, overall official figures showed tourism numbers to Preah Vihear are down substantially on 2008. In the first 10 months of this year 56.63 fewer tourists visited the temple, from 121,894 over the same period last year down to 52,861.
“We, like other tourist destinations in our country, were affected by the global economic crisis,” said Kong Vibol. “However, in my province, especially at Preah Vihear temple, we have seen a more pronounced negative impact as we face the border confrontation with neighbouring Thailand.”
The recent troubles with Thailand had not affected tourism at Preah Vihear, he added.
Seaside tourism mixed
Meanwhile, Cambodia’s two leading seaside resorts enjoyed mixed fortunes last month as Kampot province saw an increase in foreign visitors but a slide overall, and Sihanoukville recorded a large overall rise.
Mok Sekano, deputy director of Kampot Province Tourism Department, said Thursday that foreign tourist numbers climbed more than 35 percent last month year on year to 484 but domestic visitors plummeted 24 percent to 8,383.
He attributed the spike in foreign visitors to relaxed opening procedures for Bokor Mountain, which is being redeveloped, and said flood damage to a cable bridge at Teuk Chhou district had likely caused the fall in domestic tourists.
Overall for the first 10 months numbers to Kampot province slid 36.12 percent year on year.
Preah Sihanouk province had seen numbers fall just 4.22 percent over the same period, according to official figures.
In October, 16,513 tourists visited the province, up nearly 9 percent compared to the same month last year, an increase that came mainly from domestic visitors, whose numbers climbed from 8,967 in October 2008 to 10,578 last month.
Friday, 20 November 2009 15:02 May Kunmakara
Original Source
Latest figures show Siem Reap – home of Angkor Wat – and Preah Vihear saw higher tourism numbers despite tensions
TOURIST numbers to Cambodia’s two main temple destinations – Angkor Wat and Preah Vihear – grew last month, figures showed, a further sign that the sector was in recovery despite ongoing tensions with Thailand, officials said.
Total tourists to the Kingdom’s primary attraction Siem Reap climbed 0.7 percent in October year on year, Chheuy Chhorn, deputy director of Siem Reap’s Tourism Department, said Thursday, as a 2 percent drop in international arrivals to the province was offset by a 3 percent rise in domestic visitors. Overall numbers climbed to 174,814 visitors last month from 173,515 in October 2008.
“Tourists during this month were a good sign for the sector,” said Chheuy Chhorn, adding that since the start of this month – the start of the high season – numbers had again noticeably improved.
He said it remained unclear whether Siem Reap tourism would be able to match 2008, but given the figures for the first 10 months, it seemed unlikely – for the year up to the end of October numbers were down 36.88 percent following a dismal beginning to 2009.
Preah Vihear received 5,422 visitors last month, a huge increase on the 1,374 that made the trip to the temple site in October 2008, when a cross-border skirmish prompted a downturn in tourist numbers.
“Tourists increased during last month from the … year before due to a previous problem with Thailand that led to the closing of the border gate,” Kong Vibol, director of the Preah Vihear Province Tourism Department, said Thursday. “But tourism has hugely increased this year because we have a good road to the temple – we’re not relying on Thailand.”
Still, overall official figures showed tourism numbers to Preah Vihear are down substantially on 2008. In the first 10 months of this year 56.63 fewer tourists visited the temple, from 121,894 over the same period last year down to 52,861.
“We, like other tourist destinations in our country, were affected by the global economic crisis,” said Kong Vibol. “However, in my province, especially at Preah Vihear temple, we have seen a more pronounced negative impact as we face the border confrontation with neighbouring Thailand.”
The recent troubles with Thailand had not affected tourism at Preah Vihear, he added.
Seaside tourism mixed
Meanwhile, Cambodia’s two leading seaside resorts enjoyed mixed fortunes last month as Kampot province saw an increase in foreign visitors but a slide overall, and Sihanoukville recorded a large overall rise.
Mok Sekano, deputy director of Kampot Province Tourism Department, said Thursday that foreign tourist numbers climbed more than 35 percent last month year on year to 484 but domestic visitors plummeted 24 percent to 8,383.
He attributed the spike in foreign visitors to relaxed opening procedures for Bokor Mountain, which is being redeveloped, and said flood damage to a cable bridge at Teuk Chhou district had likely caused the fall in domestic tourists.
Overall for the first 10 months numbers to Kampot province slid 36.12 percent year on year.
Preah Sihanouk province had seen numbers fall just 4.22 percent over the same period, according to official figures.
In October, 16,513 tourists visited the province, up nearly 9 percent compared to the same month last year, an increase that came mainly from domestic visitors, whose numbers climbed from 8,967 in October 2008 to 10,578 last month.
Govt seizes Thai airport firm
The Phnom Penh Post
Friday, 20 November 2009 15:04 Cheang Sokha and James O’toole
Original Source
THE government took control of the Thai-owned aviation firm Cambodia Air Traffic Services (CATS) on Thursday and banned its Thai employees from the offices after the arrest of one of their co-workers on suspicion of stealing the flight schedule of fugitive Thai former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra during his visit to Cambodia last week.
The move, which is likely to further damage diplomatic relations between the two countries, comes amid accusations by a Thai opposition leader that Thailand’s foreign minister ordered the theft.
CATS is a fully owned subsidiary of Bangkok-based Samart corporation, which has a 32-year air traffic control concession and employs nine Thai nationals in Cambodia.
It has been placed under the caretakership of a Cambodian government official, though representatives from the Civil Aviation Authority declined to comment on the official’s identity or the duration of the caretakership.
“The caretaker has prohibited the Thai expatriates from performing their duties,” Samart vice chairman Sirichai Rasameechan said in a letter to Thailand’s stock exchange, where the company is listed.
Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said Cambodia’s takeover of CATS was “temporary” but necessary “to ensure national security and public safety.” The financial operations of the company, he added, would not be affected.
The move follows last week’s arrest of CATS employee Siwarak Chotipong, a 31-year-old Thai accused of spying, who is currently being held in pretrial detention at Prey Sar prison.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thaksin is not the prime minister of cambodia – he is a convicted man....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cambodian officials say that Siwarak was ordered to steal the flight schedule by Kamrob Palawatwichai, the first secretary of the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh. Kamrob was expelled last week, and Thailand responded by expelling the first secretary of the Cambodian embassy in Bangkok.
Both countries had already withdrawn their respective ambassadors in the row over Thaksin’s appointment as government economics adviser.
Siwarak is being charged under Article 19 of the 2005 Law on Archives, which covers offences related to matters of national defence, security or public order. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.
Kav Soupha, Siwarak’s defence attorney, said Thursday that he did not believe that the leaking of Thaksin’s flight schedule constituted a threat to Cambodia’s national security.
“Thaksin is not the prime minister of Cambodia – he is a convicted man who is being hunted by Thai authorities,” Kav Soupha said. “Even if [Siwarak] had reported to the Thai embassy, that would be according to his right and obligation as a Thai citizen to alert authorities about a fugitive.”
Kav Soupha added that he planned to request that Siwarak be released on bail.
Jatuporn Prompan, a parliamentarian from the opposition Puea Thai party, said Wednesday that he had an audio tape of Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya ordering the flight schedule theft of which Siwarak is accused, the Bangkok Post reported.
Thai Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman Thani Thongphakdi, however, said officials in his ministry “do not believe in the existence of such a tape”.
Cambodian Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said he had no knowledge of such evidence.
Kasit said Thailand would have to gather further information about the CATS takeover before formulating a response.
“The ministry is waiting for reports from the Thai embassy and we will also have to get clarification from the Cambodian government. If it violates bilateral agreements, then we will find ways to proceed from there,” the Bangkok Post quoted Kasit as saying.
Secrecy ordered
As tensions between Thailand and Cambodia simmered, the government released a directive on Wednesday in which the Ministry of Interior called on all government officials to encrypt their communications to “protect information related to national security”.
The statement, signed by Interior Minister Sar Kheng on October 15, touted, without specifically describing, newly acquired encryption technology that will “guarantee secrecy, so that government information will not be leaked”.
Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak said such measures were necessary in Cambodia’s present diplomatic circumstances.
“If Thaksin would have been arrested because of [Siwarak] leaking information about him, that would prove we could not keep sensitive information a secret.”
Friday, 20 November 2009 15:04 Cheang Sokha and James O’toole
Original Source
THE government took control of the Thai-owned aviation firm Cambodia Air Traffic Services (CATS) on Thursday and banned its Thai employees from the offices after the arrest of one of their co-workers on suspicion of stealing the flight schedule of fugitive Thai former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra during his visit to Cambodia last week.
The move, which is likely to further damage diplomatic relations between the two countries, comes amid accusations by a Thai opposition leader that Thailand’s foreign minister ordered the theft.
CATS is a fully owned subsidiary of Bangkok-based Samart corporation, which has a 32-year air traffic control concession and employs nine Thai nationals in Cambodia.
It has been placed under the caretakership of a Cambodian government official, though representatives from the Civil Aviation Authority declined to comment on the official’s identity or the duration of the caretakership.
“The caretaker has prohibited the Thai expatriates from performing their duties,” Samart vice chairman Sirichai Rasameechan said in a letter to Thailand’s stock exchange, where the company is listed.
Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said Cambodia’s takeover of CATS was “temporary” but necessary “to ensure national security and public safety.” The financial operations of the company, he added, would not be affected.
The move follows last week’s arrest of CATS employee Siwarak Chotipong, a 31-year-old Thai accused of spying, who is currently being held in pretrial detention at Prey Sar prison.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thaksin is not the prime minister of cambodia – he is a convicted man....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cambodian officials say that Siwarak was ordered to steal the flight schedule by Kamrob Palawatwichai, the first secretary of the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh. Kamrob was expelled last week, and Thailand responded by expelling the first secretary of the Cambodian embassy in Bangkok.
Both countries had already withdrawn their respective ambassadors in the row over Thaksin’s appointment as government economics adviser.
Siwarak is being charged under Article 19 of the 2005 Law on Archives, which covers offences related to matters of national defence, security or public order. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.
Kav Soupha, Siwarak’s defence attorney, said Thursday that he did not believe that the leaking of Thaksin’s flight schedule constituted a threat to Cambodia’s national security.
“Thaksin is not the prime minister of Cambodia – he is a convicted man who is being hunted by Thai authorities,” Kav Soupha said. “Even if [Siwarak] had reported to the Thai embassy, that would be according to his right and obligation as a Thai citizen to alert authorities about a fugitive.”
Kav Soupha added that he planned to request that Siwarak be released on bail.
Jatuporn Prompan, a parliamentarian from the opposition Puea Thai party, said Wednesday that he had an audio tape of Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya ordering the flight schedule theft of which Siwarak is accused, the Bangkok Post reported.
Thai Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman Thani Thongphakdi, however, said officials in his ministry “do not believe in the existence of such a tape”.
Cambodian Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said he had no knowledge of such evidence.
Kasit said Thailand would have to gather further information about the CATS takeover before formulating a response.
“The ministry is waiting for reports from the Thai embassy and we will also have to get clarification from the Cambodian government. If it violates bilateral agreements, then we will find ways to proceed from there,” the Bangkok Post quoted Kasit as saying.
Secrecy ordered
As tensions between Thailand and Cambodia simmered, the government released a directive on Wednesday in which the Ministry of Interior called on all government officials to encrypt their communications to “protect information related to national security”.
The statement, signed by Interior Minister Sar Kheng on October 15, touted, without specifically describing, newly acquired encryption technology that will “guarantee secrecy, so that government information will not be leaked”.
Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak said such measures were necessary in Cambodia’s present diplomatic circumstances.
“If Thaksin would have been arrested because of [Siwarak] leaking information about him, that would prove we could not keep sensitive information a secret.”
Thai-Cambodia Dispute Raises Nationalist Sentiment in Bangkok
16 November 2009
VOA News.com
Original Source
Thaksin Shinawatra, is drawing Thais to the streets. The visit has prompted an anti-Thaksin rally in Bangkok, and there are expectations of more protests.
A crowd of around 15,000 people listens to nationalist songs and speeches attacking former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
They gathered in a Bangkok park Sunday to protest Mr. Thaksin's arrival in Cambodia last week, and Phnom Penh's rejection of Bangkok's request to extradite him.
Mr. Thaksin fled Thailand last year to avoid a two-year prison sentence on corruption charges. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has appointed Mr. Thaksin as his economic adviser, calls the charges politically motivated.
Dispute worsens
The issue has worsened a dispute over an ancient temple just on the Cambodian side of the border, and is raising nationalist feeling in Bangkok.
Sondhi Limthongkul, leader of the anti-Thaksin People's Alliance for Democracy, says Sunday's rally supported the Thai government's diplomatic efforts to ease the tensions.
"It's something all the Thais who love our King want to come out and show the support to the government in responding to Mr. Hun Sen's and Mr. Thaksin's collaboration to sabotage Thailand," Sondhi said. "So all of us are coming out in real support and show our spiritual support peacefully."
A short time after Sondhi gave this interview, a small explosive went off near the stage as he was speaking, injuring several people. News reports say one man was arrested in connection with the blast.
Patriotism is motivator
Protestor, Nat Yontarak, at Rally Bangkok, 15 Nov 2009Nat Yontarak, a musician and teacher, says patriotism brought people to the rally, where paper flags were abundant.
"People feel we need to show the power that we really love the country and the dignity and our pride of our country because what Thaksin has been doing is really unacceptable," Nat said. "This time with Cambodia, with Hun Sen it's too much, it's really ridiculous."
This woman, who gave her name as Suchada, calls Mr. Thaksin disloyal for going to Cambodia.
"This situation, yes [Thaksin] come to Cambodia," Suchada said. "I think he's not a Thai. But the story is he to destroy the Thailand. He don't love the Thailand, he's not a Thai."
Some demonstrators said they attended because they were angry at comments about the monarchy that Mr. Thaksin made in a British newspaper interview. The monarchy is the country's most beloved institution and little criticism of it is tolerated.
Will dispute lead to military conflict?
The dispute has raised concerns in Southeast Asia, and there are fears that it could end in military conflict. The two sides have exchanged gunfire near the disputed temple on a few occasions in the past year.
Officials in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Cambodia and Thailand are both members, have urged them to settle the dispute quickly. And Indonesia has offered to mediate.
Recent political polls show a surge in popularity for Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's government because of Mr. Thaksin's visit to Cambodia.
Long term effects unclear
But Chris Baker, an author and commentator on Thai politics, says the long-term effect of the visit is less clear. Mr. Thaksin, ousted in a coup in 2006, maintains strong support among the urban and rural poor and working class. The urban middle class accuses Mr. Thaksin of corruption and authoritarianism.
"Superficially, it looks as if Thaksin has lost badly to identify yourself with a rather unpopular neighbor, it's not good," Baker said. "So I think things have hardened against him. But I'm not really sure whether for many of his core supporters that may not matter too much at all. Perhaps by making himself so visible in the media for several days at a time he's actually revived his position a little bit."
Baker says the question is now whether Mr. Abhisit's Democrat Party will try to press the political advantage by spurring nationalist sentiment.
"The issue is now how does he [Abhisit] sustain that [advantage] or does he want to sustain that? Does it mean that this government now has to play this nationalist card very hard and very constanstly and that of course would be very dangerous," Baker said.
But Baker says he expects the cross-border dispute to ease "quite quickly" and that the Democrat Party will "lapse back" into trying to work with its neighbor to resolve the temple dispute.
However, in Thailand, political analysts warn that domestic divisions could worsen in the weeks ahead as Mr. Thaksin's supporters hold rallies.
Over the past two years, massive rallies of Mr. Thaksin's supporters and opponents have at times paralyzed Bangkok. In April, pro-Thaksin rallies turned violent and a year ago, anti-Thaksin forces closed the country's main international airport for a week, stranding tens of thousands of travellers at the start of the peak tourism season.
VOA News.com
Original Source
Thaksin Shinawatra, is drawing Thais to the streets. The visit has prompted an anti-Thaksin rally in Bangkok, and there are expectations of more protests.
A crowd of around 15,000 people listens to nationalist songs and speeches attacking former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
They gathered in a Bangkok park Sunday to protest Mr. Thaksin's arrival in Cambodia last week, and Phnom Penh's rejection of Bangkok's request to extradite him.
Mr. Thaksin fled Thailand last year to avoid a two-year prison sentence on corruption charges. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has appointed Mr. Thaksin as his economic adviser, calls the charges politically motivated.
Dispute worsens
The issue has worsened a dispute over an ancient temple just on the Cambodian side of the border, and is raising nationalist feeling in Bangkok.
Sondhi Limthongkul, leader of the anti-Thaksin People's Alliance for Democracy, says Sunday's rally supported the Thai government's diplomatic efforts to ease the tensions.
"It's something all the Thais who love our King want to come out and show the support to the government in responding to Mr. Hun Sen's and Mr. Thaksin's collaboration to sabotage Thailand," Sondhi said. "So all of us are coming out in real support and show our spiritual support peacefully."
A short time after Sondhi gave this interview, a small explosive went off near the stage as he was speaking, injuring several people. News reports say one man was arrested in connection with the blast.
Patriotism is motivator
Protestor, Nat Yontarak, at Rally Bangkok, 15 Nov 2009Nat Yontarak, a musician and teacher, says patriotism brought people to the rally, where paper flags were abundant.
"People feel we need to show the power that we really love the country and the dignity and our pride of our country because what Thaksin has been doing is really unacceptable," Nat said. "This time with Cambodia, with Hun Sen it's too much, it's really ridiculous."
This woman, who gave her name as Suchada, calls Mr. Thaksin disloyal for going to Cambodia.
"This situation, yes [Thaksin] come to Cambodia," Suchada said. "I think he's not a Thai. But the story is he to destroy the Thailand. He don't love the Thailand, he's not a Thai."
Some demonstrators said they attended because they were angry at comments about the monarchy that Mr. Thaksin made in a British newspaper interview. The monarchy is the country's most beloved institution and little criticism of it is tolerated.
Will dispute lead to military conflict?
The dispute has raised concerns in Southeast Asia, and there are fears that it could end in military conflict. The two sides have exchanged gunfire near the disputed temple on a few occasions in the past year.
Officials in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Cambodia and Thailand are both members, have urged them to settle the dispute quickly. And Indonesia has offered to mediate.
Recent political polls show a surge in popularity for Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's government because of Mr. Thaksin's visit to Cambodia.
Long term effects unclear
But Chris Baker, an author and commentator on Thai politics, says the long-term effect of the visit is less clear. Mr. Thaksin, ousted in a coup in 2006, maintains strong support among the urban and rural poor and working class. The urban middle class accuses Mr. Thaksin of corruption and authoritarianism.
"Superficially, it looks as if Thaksin has lost badly to identify yourself with a rather unpopular neighbor, it's not good," Baker said. "So I think things have hardened against him. But I'm not really sure whether for many of his core supporters that may not matter too much at all. Perhaps by making himself so visible in the media for several days at a time he's actually revived his position a little bit."
Baker says the question is now whether Mr. Abhisit's Democrat Party will try to press the political advantage by spurring nationalist sentiment.
"The issue is now how does he [Abhisit] sustain that [advantage] or does he want to sustain that? Does it mean that this government now has to play this nationalist card very hard and very constanstly and that of course would be very dangerous," Baker said.
But Baker says he expects the cross-border dispute to ease "quite quickly" and that the Democrat Party will "lapse back" into trying to work with its neighbor to resolve the temple dispute.
However, in Thailand, political analysts warn that domestic divisions could worsen in the weeks ahead as Mr. Thaksin's supporters hold rallies.
Over the past two years, massive rallies of Mr. Thaksin's supporters and opponents have at times paralyzed Bangkok. In April, pro-Thaksin rallies turned violent and a year ago, anti-Thaksin forces closed the country's main international airport for a week, stranding tens of thousands of travellers at the start of the peak tourism season.
Thai PM: Thai-Cambodian relationship now stable
www.chinaview.cn 2009-11-20 16:53:57
BANGKOK, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Thai-Cambodian relationship is currently stable and is not expected to deteriorate, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Friday.
Thailand and Cambodia have downgraded their diplomatic relations due to conflict over an appointment of Thaksin Shinawatra as an economic advisor to Cambodia's government and Prime Minister Hun Sen on Nov.4.
A day after the appointment of the ousted former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, the Cambodian government announced recall of its ambassador to Thailand in a move to respond to the Thai government's recall of its ambassador to Cambodia.
"The Thai-Cambodian relationship is now stable," Thai News Agency quoted Abhisit as saying.
Also, both sides are ready to discuss as there will be a meeting of the Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Commission (JBC), said Abhisit.
The JBC meeting will be co-chaired by Thai Defense Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan and Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Banh, he said.
Thaksin was ousted by the military coup in September 2006, in accusation of corruption, and has been kept in exile since then.
He returned to Thailand in February 2008 to face corruption charges, but he later fled into exile again and was convicted in absentia.
Editor: Xiong Tong
BANGKOK, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Thai-Cambodian relationship is currently stable and is not expected to deteriorate, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Friday.
Thailand and Cambodia have downgraded their diplomatic relations due to conflict over an appointment of Thaksin Shinawatra as an economic advisor to Cambodia's government and Prime Minister Hun Sen on Nov.4.
A day after the appointment of the ousted former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, the Cambodian government announced recall of its ambassador to Thailand in a move to respond to the Thai government's recall of its ambassador to Cambodia.
"The Thai-Cambodian relationship is now stable," Thai News Agency quoted Abhisit as saying.
Also, both sides are ready to discuss as there will be a meeting of the Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Commission (JBC), said Abhisit.
The JBC meeting will be co-chaired by Thai Defense Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan and Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Banh, he said.
Thaksin was ousted by the military coup in September 2006, in accusation of corruption, and has been kept in exile since then.
He returned to Thailand in February 2008 to face corruption charges, but he later fled into exile again and was convicted in absentia.
Editor: Xiong Tong
IFC-ILO Better Work Conference Promotes Improved Labor Standards, Increased Competitiveness
The Financial
20/11/2009 14:10 (21:27 minutes ago)
The FINANCIAL -- IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and the International Labour Organization are meeting on November 19 with governments, garment industry leaders, and labor-related organizations to promote labor standards for millions of workers and expand efforts to increase companies’ competitiveness in global markets.
"IFC and ILO are hosting a conference, Harnessing Global Incentives for Development, to discuss lessons learned in the past decade from experiences of Better Factories Cambodia, an initiative under the joint IFC-ILO Better Work partnership program. Launched in 2006, Better Work seeks to improve labor standards and competitiveness in global supply chains," IFC reported.
The conference highlights successful elements that led to the growth of Cambodia’s textile sector, such as increasing dialogue at the factory level, implementing dispute settlement mechanisms, building mature industrial relations, and improving the investment climate.
“Collaboration among government, local industry leaders, and international brands continues to be instrumental in achieving the success that Better Work Factories and Better Work have experienced in the last 10 years,” said Greg Radford, IFC Director for Environment and Social Development. “While millions of workers are benefiting from these commitments, companies are becoming more competitive in the global marketplace and more likely to weather the financial crisis.”
Major apparel companies that support the Better Work program also are attending the conference, including American Eagle Outfitters, Gap Inc, Jones Apparel, Levi Strauss & Co, Martha Stewart Living, Nike, Polo Ralph Lauren, Walt Disney, and Wal-mart. The valued supporters will contribute a multistakeholder perspective.
“Better Work is supported widely by international buyers and local suppliers. This has made a significant impact on the lives of workers and their families, the performance of enterprises, and the economic and social development of the countries involved,” said Ros Harvey, Global Director for the Better Work program.
IFC is the only international financial institution focused exclusively on the private sector, the engine of sustainable development in emerging markets. Along with IBRD, it is currently seeking a capital increase to strengthen its ability to create opportunity for the poor in developing countries—including by helping improve labor standards to benefit millions of workers and businesses worldwide.
20/11/2009 14:10 (21:27 minutes ago)
The FINANCIAL -- IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and the International Labour Organization are meeting on November 19 with governments, garment industry leaders, and labor-related organizations to promote labor standards for millions of workers and expand efforts to increase companies’ competitiveness in global markets.
"IFC and ILO are hosting a conference, Harnessing Global Incentives for Development, to discuss lessons learned in the past decade from experiences of Better Factories Cambodia, an initiative under the joint IFC-ILO Better Work partnership program. Launched in 2006, Better Work seeks to improve labor standards and competitiveness in global supply chains," IFC reported.
The conference highlights successful elements that led to the growth of Cambodia’s textile sector, such as increasing dialogue at the factory level, implementing dispute settlement mechanisms, building mature industrial relations, and improving the investment climate.
“Collaboration among government, local industry leaders, and international brands continues to be instrumental in achieving the success that Better Work Factories and Better Work have experienced in the last 10 years,” said Greg Radford, IFC Director for Environment and Social Development. “While millions of workers are benefiting from these commitments, companies are becoming more competitive in the global marketplace and more likely to weather the financial crisis.”
Major apparel companies that support the Better Work program also are attending the conference, including American Eagle Outfitters, Gap Inc, Jones Apparel, Levi Strauss & Co, Martha Stewart Living, Nike, Polo Ralph Lauren, Walt Disney, and Wal-mart. The valued supporters will contribute a multistakeholder perspective.
“Better Work is supported widely by international buyers and local suppliers. This has made a significant impact on the lives of workers and their families, the performance of enterprises, and the economic and social development of the countries involved,” said Ros Harvey, Global Director for the Better Work program.
IFC is the only international financial institution focused exclusively on the private sector, the engine of sustainable development in emerging markets. Along with IBRD, it is currently seeking a capital increase to strengthen its ability to create opportunity for the poor in developing countries—including by helping improve labor standards to benefit millions of workers and businesses worldwide.
The runners-up
Angela Robson
The Guardian
Javed Abidi, India
Javed Abidi is the founder of NCPEDP, an organisation that has had a transformative effect on attitudes towards disability throughout India. When the Indian parliament was attacked by gunmen, Javed, who has been a wheelchair user since contracting polio as a child, campaigned for the rights of permanently injured guards and soldiers, long after they had been forgotten by the press.
Mauricio Agostinho Camuto, Angola
Mauricio Agostinho Camuto is director of Radio Ecclesia, known in Angola as "the voice of the voiceless". Radio Ecclesia has faced continuous denouncement for exposing human rights abuses and drawing attention to the mismanagement of public resources. Camuto's efforts in making sure Ecclesia remains independent have brought tangible changes to government accountability.
Chea Mony, Cambodia
Chea Mony is president of the Free Trade Union in Cambodia. As a child his parents were killed by the Khmer Rouge and he was placed in a child labour unit. He has fought tirelessly to improve the working conditions of garment workers and to secure human rights in Cambodia.
Dr Fred Torgbor Sai, Ghana
Dr Fred Sai became an advocate for women's reproductive rights as a medical student. He is now adviser to the Ghanaian government on reproductive health and HIV/Aids, co-founder of the Ghana Planned Parenthood Association and a widely published author.
The Guardian
Javed Abidi, India
Javed Abidi is the founder of NCPEDP, an organisation that has had a transformative effect on attitudes towards disability throughout India. When the Indian parliament was attacked by gunmen, Javed, who has been a wheelchair user since contracting polio as a child, campaigned for the rights of permanently injured guards and soldiers, long after they had been forgotten by the press.
Mauricio Agostinho Camuto, Angola
Mauricio Agostinho Camuto is director of Radio Ecclesia, known in Angola as "the voice of the voiceless". Radio Ecclesia has faced continuous denouncement for exposing human rights abuses and drawing attention to the mismanagement of public resources. Camuto's efforts in making sure Ecclesia remains independent have brought tangible changes to government accountability.
Chea Mony, Cambodia
Chea Mony is president of the Free Trade Union in Cambodia. As a child his parents were killed by the Khmer Rouge and he was placed in a child labour unit. He has fought tirelessly to improve the working conditions of garment workers and to secure human rights in Cambodia.
Dr Fred Torgbor Sai, Ghana
Dr Fred Sai became an advocate for women's reproductive rights as a medical student. He is now adviser to the Ghanaian government on reproductive health and HIV/Aids, co-founder of the Ghana Planned Parenthood Association and a widely published author.
19 November, 2009
I Am Precious competition finalists
I Am Precious competition finalists
— filed under: Article
Twenty finalists who submitted their design of dresses and t-shirts will display their works and the winners announced and presented awards at this event in Phnom Penh, organized by the ILO Better Factories Cambodia project.
29 November 2009I am Precious
Award presentation for the I am Precious campaign finalists
The ILO Better Factories Cambodia project and its partners are organizing the final event of a 4 month long campaign which provided an opportunity for garment workers to display their talents and creativity. Almost 500 garment workers submitted over one thousand designs of dresses and t-shirts to the competition. Twenty finalists have been selected and will display their works at this event. A jury panel will announce and present awards to the winners--3 each for the dress and t-shirt categories.
The aim of the campaign is to promote garment workers’ increasing awareness of their work and encourage them to realize their value, to showcase rewarding careers in the industry, and to broaden opportunities for them to contribute their abilities and skills to the industry as well as the society.
For information on the 20 finalists click here
For more information, please contact:
Mr Tuomo Poutiainen
Chief Technical Advisor
ILO Better Factories Cambodia
Email pouiainen@ilo.org
Ms. Pol Vanna
ILO Better Factories Cambodia
Phone: +855-23 212 847
Email vanna@ilo.org
— filed under: Article
Twenty finalists who submitted their design of dresses and t-shirts will display their works and the winners announced and presented awards at this event in Phnom Penh, organized by the ILO Better Factories Cambodia project.
29 November 2009I am Precious
Award presentation for the I am Precious campaign finalists
The ILO Better Factories Cambodia project and its partners are organizing the final event of a 4 month long campaign which provided an opportunity for garment workers to display their talents and creativity. Almost 500 garment workers submitted over one thousand designs of dresses and t-shirts to the competition. Twenty finalists have been selected and will display their works at this event. A jury panel will announce and present awards to the winners--3 each for the dress and t-shirt categories.
The aim of the campaign is to promote garment workers’ increasing awareness of their work and encourage them to realize their value, to showcase rewarding careers in the industry, and to broaden opportunities for them to contribute their abilities and skills to the industry as well as the society.
For information on the 20 finalists click here
For more information, please contact:
Mr Tuomo Poutiainen
Chief Technical Advisor
ILO Better Factories Cambodia
Email pouiainen@ilo.org
Ms. Pol Vanna
ILO Better Factories Cambodia
Phone: +855-23 212 847
Email vanna@ilo.org
17 November, 2009
ILO and IFC Help Improve Conditions for Factory Workers
Source: EHS Today
Nov 16, 2009 10:13 AM, By Sandy Smith
An innovative approach to supply chain relationships has shown that factories with improved compliance to labor standards are considerably more likely to survive the economic crisis.
Better Work, a joint program of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Finance Corp. (IFC), has been helping enterprises that are linked to global supply chains gain competitive advantage through better labor standards. The program – focused on industries such as agriculture, apparel, light manufacturing, transportation, construction and electronics – offers sustainable solutions that build cooperation between government, employer and worker organizations and international buyers.
On Nov. 19, a meeting of business executives, government officials, unions, employer organizations, opinion leaders and policymakers will take place at the IFC in Washington, D.C., to discuss the results of the program and its expansion. The meeting, “Harnessing Global Incentives for Development,” will explore strategies for using trade and supply chain relationships to improve working conditions and promote competitiveness in global supply chains.
The event marks the 10th Anniversary of the U.S./Cambodia Bilateral Textile agreement that helped establish Better Factories Cambodia (BFC) by offering bonus market access in exchange for improvement in labour standards.
Nov 16, 2009 10:13 AM, By Sandy Smith
An innovative approach to supply chain relationships has shown that factories with improved compliance to labor standards are considerably more likely to survive the economic crisis.
Better Work, a joint program of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Finance Corp. (IFC), has been helping enterprises that are linked to global supply chains gain competitive advantage through better labor standards. The program – focused on industries such as agriculture, apparel, light manufacturing, transportation, construction and electronics – offers sustainable solutions that build cooperation between government, employer and worker organizations and international buyers.
On Nov. 19, a meeting of business executives, government officials, unions, employer organizations, opinion leaders and policymakers will take place at the IFC in Washington, D.C., to discuss the results of the program and its expansion. The meeting, “Harnessing Global Incentives for Development,” will explore strategies for using trade and supply chain relationships to improve working conditions and promote competitiveness in global supply chains.
The event marks the 10th Anniversary of the U.S./Cambodia Bilateral Textile agreement that helped establish Better Factories Cambodia (BFC) by offering bonus market access in exchange for improvement in labour standards.
10 November, 2009
Thailand's Thaksin in Cambodia: AFP photographer
PHNOM PENH — Fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra landed in Phnom Penh Tuesday, arriving in Cambodia to carry out his new role as economics adviser to the government, an AFP photographer said.
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved.
06 November, 2009
05 November, 2009
Cambodia To Pave Road To Preah Vihear Temple
Source: Bernama.com
November 03, 2009 19:23 PM
PHNOM PENH, Nov 3 (Bernama) -- Royal Cambodian Armed Forces ( RCAF) will begin paving the 80 km dirt road from Oddar Meanchey province's Anlong Veng district to Preah Vihear temple before Nov 25, China's Xinhua news agency reported, citing officials from RCAF as saying in a local media.
"We will begin pave the road by the end of the month. The total distance is about 80 km. It may cost about US$10 million and it will be finished by June 2010," Kwann Seam, director of RCAF's engineering department, was quoted by the Cambodia Daily as saying.
He said that his team would begin surveying the road after the Water Festival in Phnom Penh is finished.
By April 2010, RCAF will begin paving another 22 km dirt road, this time to Ta Moan temple from Kork Mon commune in Oddar Meanchey province's Banteay Ampil district, he said.
Seam said that the paving of roads in the area is part of a larger project to pave all northern roads in the country.
"We hope that by 2013, all the roads in the northern area will be paved," he said.
Major General Srey Dek, commander of RCAF Division 3, said that despite ongoing tension between Cambodia and Thailand over Preah Vihear temple, tourists should not worry about safety.
-- BERNAMA
November 03, 2009 19:23 PM
PHNOM PENH, Nov 3 (Bernama) -- Royal Cambodian Armed Forces ( RCAF) will begin paving the 80 km dirt road from Oddar Meanchey province's Anlong Veng district to Preah Vihear temple before Nov 25, China's Xinhua news agency reported, citing officials from RCAF as saying in a local media.
"We will begin pave the road by the end of the month. The total distance is about 80 km. It may cost about US$10 million and it will be finished by June 2010," Kwann Seam, director of RCAF's engineering department, was quoted by the Cambodia Daily as saying.
He said that his team would begin surveying the road after the Water Festival in Phnom Penh is finished.
By April 2010, RCAF will begin paving another 22 km dirt road, this time to Ta Moan temple from Kork Mon commune in Oddar Meanchey province's Banteay Ampil district, he said.
Seam said that the paving of roads in the area is part of a larger project to pave all northern roads in the country.
"We hope that by 2013, all the roads in the northern area will be paved," he said.
Major General Srey Dek, commander of RCAF Division 3, said that despite ongoing tension between Cambodia and Thailand over Preah Vihear temple, tourists should not worry about safety.
-- BERNAMA
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